Trauma Team: The Darkside Chronicles
by Ridler
Summary: The Trauma Team find themselves on Rockfort island, fighting the sudden outbreak of a virus only known as Veronica. Can they defeat it before it defeats them? Sequel to "Umbrella Chronicles". Co-written by and starring YouTuber Hillychua.
1. A New Story

**1. A NEW STORY**

'Gah… I hate boats…' Dr. Cunningham said and fell on the floor.

'Oh, quit complaining! This is a five star cruise ship! What's there to hate about it?' Maria yelled.

'Yeah… Easy for you to say… You're not the one with the acute seasickness…'

'If you have seasickness, then why don't you ever get sick in the helicopter?'

'Who says that I don't? Ompf…' the diagnostician threw his head overboard. 'Carrots? I don't remember eating carrots…'

'That's disgusting. I'm going back to my cabin' Maria said and turned around.

'Dr. Cunningham?' Tomoe approached. 'What's wrong? Are you seasick?'

'Yeah… I hate boats…'

'Try going to the front of the ship and drinking a lot of water. It usually helps' Dr. Tachibana smiled.

'You think it will?'

'Yes. Keep your mind occupied with something'

'Yeah, great… Maybe I should do just that… Hank!' the diagnostician yelled when he saw his friend. 'Wanna go to the bar?'

'Uhm… Are you sure you're up for that?'

'Sure I am! I just need a—'

*CRASH!*

The doctors turned around.

They could've sworn they heard a crashing sound from one of the cabins.

'Let's go!' Gabe got up.

'Go… where?' confused, Hank asked.

'You heard the crash, right? Let's go see what caused it!'

'Well…' the orthopedic surgeon thought for a while, then agreed.

The two doctors quickly entered the cabins and (after asking around) managed to find out that the crash came from the luggage department, which made it all the more weird.

As fast as they could, they entered and couldn't help but notice the huge broken crate there.

And the person standing right next to it.

'You!' Gabe gasped as his cigarette almost fell from his mouth.


	2. An Unexpected Visitor

**2. AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR**

'Uhm… Hi, Dr. Cunningham! What's up?'

'What the hell are you doing here?'

'Hey, it's not fair! Why are YOU the only ones that get to go on a tropical island?'

'Well maybe because our IDs aren't fake! What were you thinking?'

Adam blushed.

'Well…'

'Adam, why didn't you stay at Resurgam?' Dr. Freebird asked calmly. 'There may be patients there needing you!'

'Nah, that's alright. Since the chief learned of your departure, she ordered all the patients to be transferred to Portland. The only ones left in the whole hospital are about a hundred people that are recovering, and the nurses can take care of that!'

'Damn it…'

'Oh, come on, Dr. Cunningham! Let me stay! I can be of use on the island! There's gotta be at least one guy there in need of a brain surgery, right?'

Gabe sighed.

'Well, it's not like we can get you out of here… But how did you manage to come, anyway? Don't tell me you hid in the crate all this time!'

'Well… It worked, didn't it?' he smiled.

'Gah… Whatever! Just… stay out of trouble!'

'Sure thing, Dr. Cunningham!'

Gabriel quickly turned around and started walking towards the exit.

Hank lifted his shoulders, then promptly followed him.

'Wait!'

'Huh?'

'Uhm… Can you guys explain to me exactly why we're going to this island?'

Gabe's cigarette literally fell from his mouth this time.

'WHAT? You want to tell me that you hid in a crate for hours in order to get on board of a ship, even though you have no idea where it's going or what you'll do after it arrives?'

'Uhm… See, when you put it like that… Listen, I haven't had a vacation since I was in high school, so give me some break!'

'We're not going on a vacation! It's not a tropical island!'

'It's… not?'

Gabe sighed.

'Come. Let's go to the bar and I'll explain… Damn it…'


	3. The Explanation

**3. THE EXPLANATION**

'We're headed to Rockfort Island' Hank explained.

'Rockfort? Sounds like a prison'

'Not exactly' Gabe drank a huge glass of water in one go, then continued explaining. 'It's a private island owned by one Alfred Ashford. Access to it is limited. Not many people even know of its existence'

'Wow… Then why are we going?'

'Remember the T-Virus from two months ago?'

'And you ask? How can I ever forget?'

'There's been an outbreak of a similar virus on the island. We're not sure exactly how it happened, since it's completely isolated, but it did'

'Didn't Caduceus send the cure to them?'

'They did, and that's the strange thing. It doesn't work' Hank added.

'What? How so?'

'We don't know yet. That's why we're going. Seeing as the first outbreak happened in Cumberland, we're the most experienced medical practitioners out there'

'That's why Alfred Ashford hired our Trauma Team to help with the crisis'

'Wait, I thought we weren't for hire!'

'That's what I thought too' Gabe chewed on his newly lit cigarette. 'But the Chief decided to accept anyway, mainly to help the island'

'I see…'

'As you said yourself, we managed to eradicate the virus back home, and the only thing that remains from the outbreak are bad memories. Now we need to do the same with the new virus'

'Alright then! So what do we do?'

'First we need to make contact with the Rockfort Medical Centre. Then, we'll join them temporarily in taking the virus down and helping the civilians'

'And if that's the case… Then why aren't we moving any faster than this? If there's already an outbreak out there, why didn't we get a plane or something?'

'Relax' Gabe smiled. 'The outbreak's small. We're just there for back-up. They need our expert opinions, that's all'

'Hmm… I have a bad feeling about this'

Suddenly, the ship shook hardly.

Even though Dr. Freebird kept his balance without much problem, Gabriel needed to lean back on the bar to avoid falling down.

The youngest doctor on the team wasn't so lucky, however, and fell face-first on the floor.

'Ow! What was that?' Adam yelled.

'Looks like we hit something' Gabe went out and looked.

'No…' Hank sighed. 'We were hit by something'

'Huh?'

The three doctors went out and looked at the damage.

They were only about half a mile away from the shore already.

But that's not what caught their attention.

The ship was burning.

'What the hell?' Maria yelled as she ran to them. 'What happened?'

'I don't know, I…' Adam said.

'And what are YOU doing here?'

Before the brain surgeon could explain himself, everyone on board lost their balance.

The doctors were barely able to grab a hold of something before realizing the terrifying truth.

'We're sinking!' Adam screamed.

'Let's get the lifeboats ready!' Hank immediately responded and got up, despite the shaking of the ship, then ran to warn the other passengers.

'Good idea' Gabe noted. 'Come on, everybody! Help me get to the lifeboats!'


	4. First Response at Rockfort

**4. FIRST RESPONSE AT ROCKFORT**

Maria Torres opened her eyes.

She slowly sat up and looked around, trying to grasp her situation.

The girl was lying on a beach.

"How did I get here?" she asked herself.

And then, suddenly, she remembered.

'The ship!' the paramedic yelled and got up, then started running across the beach.

After a few seconds of running, she finally noticed the other survivors.

Most of them were injured.

Immediately, she noticed Dr. Cunningham giving out orders.

She ran to him as fast as she could and tapped him on the shoulder.

'Gabe!'

'Maria!' the diagnostician's eyes shone like never before. 'I'm so glad you're here! You need to help me stabilize the patients!'

'Of course I'm here! Where else could I be?' Dr. Torres said and looked around.

Her eyes focused on her own paramedic bag with tools. She ran to it and grabbed it.

'I found it lying on the beach next to me when I woke up' Gabe explained. 'Make good use of it!'

'Of course! How many victims?'

'Three initial ones, and the captain of the ship is looking for more!'

'Only three? I thought there'd be more!' she yelled and went to the first victim.

Coincidentally, it was the first mate. His leg was broken and he had 2nd degree burns on his hand. Maria took her bandages and gel out and started treating the wounds.

'Yeah, there should be more! We had two lifeboats in total, but only one came here! The other was drifted away by the current and we lost sight of it!'

'Right! Who was on the other boat?'

'I can't remember exactly, but I'm sure I noticed Tomoe and Hank on it'

'Alright! Then they can take care of the injured there! That's gonna hurt' Maria warned her patient and quickly adjusted his broken leg.

The man yelled and shook, but ultimately held on.

'Gabe! Find me a stick or something!'

Dr. Cunningham looked around, and then ran to the longest stick he saw on the beach and grabbed it, then threw it to Maria, who grabbed it in mid-air and pressed it against the first mate's leg.

After applying some bandages to the spleen, she realized her patient was stable and left him in her colleague's care, then ran to the next one.

It was a woman she didn't recognize, most likely a passenger.

She had third degree burns on her abdomen, but no other visible wounds.

'Oh God… This is bad… Gabe! How do I treat these things?'

Dr. Cunningham sighed.

'You can't! Use antibiotic gel! After we're done here, we'll go the hospital where they can be treated right!'

That's exactly what she did. After completely disinfecting the burns, Maria bandaged them and looked at the patient.

She was unconscious, but was thankfully breathing.

'Gabe! This one's not stable yet! Pay attention to her!'

'Alright!' the diagnostician ran to her.

'Where's the next one?'

'Right over there!'

Maria ran to the man lying on his stomach and quickly turned him around.

'Alright, let's see… ADAM? Oh God…'

The young surgeon was unconscious, with a broken arm and a stick stuck in his abdomen.

'Hang in there, Adam!' Maria told him and grabbed the stick, then started pushing it, attempting to break it. 'Gah!'

It was far too hard.

'Break, damn it! YAAAARGH!' the girl yelled and finally managed to snap the stick in two. After throwing it out, she cut Adam's shirt and looked at the damage.

The wound was bleeding severely. But worst of all, the stick was stuck between the liver and the stomach.

It was a miracle that it'd hit exactly that spot, as only half an inch away to either side would make Adam's state very complicated. However, that also made the stick harder to extract.

'Alright, nothing more I can do here…' she said and bandaged the wound as much as she could. 'Now, let's look at the… NO!'

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the brain surgeon started convulsing.

Maria knew very well what that meant.

Cardiac arrest.

'No!' she yelled an punched him in the chest as hard as she could. 'You can't die on me! Adam!' another punch.

The young surgeon still wasn't reacting.

'Maria! Another victim! The captain just pulled him out of the water!'

The girl started shivering when she heard this.

A drowning victim needed immediate attention, as soon as possible.

But Adam was dying.

There was almost no chance to save her colleague. But if she took her time to try anyway, she'd have lost the drowning victim.

Suddenly, Maria felt the burden of the choice she had to make.

'No… Adam… Gabe! Take care of the fourth victim!'

'What? Me? But I need to supervise the woman with the burns!'

'Have someone else do it!' Maria yelled and hit Adam's chest once more. 'Come on! You can't just die! Not like this!'

Gabe sighed as he sat down next to the fourth victim and started massaging his chest to push the water away.

Meanwhile, Maria was doing the same to Adam in an attempt to restart his heart.

Completely fruitlessly, however.

'No! Don't die! Damn it, Adam, don't die!' she kept pushing his chest up and down.

Then, she opened his mouth and performed CPR.

She wasn't going to let her colleague die like this.

After about 10 seconds of CPR, she listened to the surgeon's chest again.

And she heard his heart beating.

'Alright!' she laughed. 'Now…' she reached in her bag and took out a box cutter.

'Gabe! Throw me your pen!'

'Oh, for crying out loud!' Gabe reached in his pocket and quickly threw his ballpoint pen to the paramedic. She grabbed it and opened it, then took the tube out.

After making a very careful incision on Adam's neck, she inserted the tube inside the hole and quickly disinfected and bandaged it.

At last, Adam was stable.


	5. At The Beach

**5. AT THE BEACH**

'Hey!' Gabe greeted. 'Do you mind if I join you?'

'Knock yourself out' Maria responded as Dr. Cunningham sat next to her on the rock.

'You did well today. I wouldn't have been able to save all these patients myself'

'Yeah…'

'Hey, what's wrong? Our situation's not that bad. The island' small. After the patients… and we too, get some rest, we're heading out for the hospital. We should be there before tomorrow'

'That's… not it'

Gabe turned his head over to the sleeping patients.

'He'll be alright. Us doctors are tough. You should know that better than anybody'

'Yeah, but…' Maria sighed. 'Gabe, can I tell you something?'

The diagnostician thought about making a joke, but decided to keep quiet.

'While I was trying to stabilize him, his heart stopped, and… When you brought the fourth patient, I… I hesitated…'

'You did?'

'I… I considered leaving him to die…' she looked down.

Gabe grinned.

'But you didn't, did you?'

'Huh?'

The diagnostician hit his colleague on the back lightly. 'You saved his life. That's all that matters'

Maria thought about it for a few seconds. And then, she smiled back.

'Yeah! You're right!'

Gabriel got up.

'Well, now that we have that out of the way… Try and get some sleep. We'll leave in an hour or so'

'Right!' Maria said and looked at her friend.

And then, she noticed something behind him.

Far off in the distance, there was a shadow.

She wasn't very sure, but it looked a lot like a person.

Like a girl.

'Hey!' Maria yelled.

But, in a split second, the girl was gone.

'What is it?' Gabe asked, kind of annoyed.

'I saw someone over there! A girl…'

'A girl?' Gabe laughed. 'Was it Rosalia? Or maybe another ghost?'

'Shut up!'


	6. Ashford Medical Facility

**6. ASHFORD MEDICAL FACILITY**

'Gyah!' Hank got up.

'Oh, up already? What a coincidence!' the doctor next to him smiled.

'Where am I? Is this… the Ashford Medical Facility?'

'Yeah, that's the one' the doctor confirmed. 'You and the rest of the survivors from the lifeboat are here and safe'

'Wait…' Hank remembered. 'THE lifeboat?'

The doctor looked at him.

'Hm?'

'What about the other one? We used TWO lifeboats when we got off the ship!'

The man in white looked around.

'Are you absolutely sure?'

'Of course I am!'

'We only have one lifeboat here' he turned to the door. 'Nurse! Contact Rescue immediately! There's another lifeboat out there!'

'Please… Find them!' the orthopedist asked.

'We will, Mr…'

'Hank. Hank Freebird'

'I promise you, Mr. Freebird, we'll find them!'

'Wait!'

The doctor turned around.

'Can you tell me your name?' Hank asked.

The doctor ran his fingers through his brown hair.

'I'm Dr. Markus Vaughn. Nice to meet you'


	7. The Path of Honor

**7. THE PATH OF HONOR**

Tomoe opened her eyes and looked around.

She was obviously in a hospital, and from the robe she was dressed in she determined she was there as a patient.

The woman turned around and pressed the button on the intercom.

A few moments later, a girl entered the room entered.

'Oh, Miss Tachibana! You woke up! I'm glad!' she smiled.

Tomoe looked at her from head to toe.

The girl was dressed in an intern's clothes. She had dark skin and short, black hair. The surgeon noted she kind of resembled Maria, but was much younger.

'I did' she smiled. 'Were you the doctor that treated me?'

'Yes!' the girl smiled back. 'I'm Valerie Blaylock, a first-year intern here in "Ashford Medical". Your wounds weren't serious at all, so I treated you. Dr. Vaughn and the others take care of your friends'

'I see… All of them made it, right?'

'Yeah! However, I just got word that one of the lifeboats didn't make it here. We've sent out a helicopter to find them, though!'

Tomoe gasped.

'Oh my… Who was on the lifeboat that came here?'

Valerie thought.

'Hmm, well… That would be a few of the ship's crew members… Oh, and one of your colleagues, doctor… Uhm…' she blushed. 'I'm sorry, I don't remember'

Tomoe got up.

'Doctor Blaylock, can you please show me the room of my colleague?'


	8. Doctor's Apology

**8. DOCTOR'S APOLOGY**

'Hm…' Adam slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

He was shirtless and covered in bandages, lying on the beach under the sun.

He tried to get up, but the extremely sharp pain from his abdomen forced him to lie back down.

'Ah!' he yelled.

'Adam!' Maria turned around.

She got up from the nearby rock and went to her friend.

'Maria… What the…'

'Don't move! I know it hurts, but bear it, I don't have any painkillers on me'

'Hah… It's okay… I've had worse… Ow…'

Maria smiled.

'Where… are we, anyway?'

'After the ship sank, our lifeboat was stranded here. We're waiting for support right now. You're not the only one that's injured, you know'

'Heh… Sorry about that…'

'You idiot, what are you apologizing for? It's not like it's your fault or anything!'

'Yeah… Guess you're right… Then sorry for coming here… I wasn't invited after aAW! Man, that hurts!'

'Then don't speak, you moron!' Maria smiled gently. 'Listen… I need to apologize. Not you. I'm sorry, Adam. It won't happen again. Ever again'

'Eh? What are you talking about?'

Maria laughed cheerfully.

Her decision to never allow such doubts again filled her heart with joy.

'It doesn't matter'

'Aw… Okay… I'll just be quiet now'

'Yeah, you do that… Huh?'

'What is it?'

'You hear that?'

Maria turned around.

'Hear what?'

'THAT!' she laughed and pointed up.

A red helicopter was flying high above them.

'HEY! WE'RE HERE!' she yelled. 'GABE!'

On the other end of the beach, the diagnostician had also noticed the chopper.

Luckily for them, it noticed them too.

Meanwhile, in the woods surrounding the beach, the girl was observing everything quietly.

She looked at her cellphone, then quickly put it back in her pocket, smiling.

After that, she turned around and started walking.


	9. Happy Reunion

**9. HAPPY REUNION**

'Hank! Tomoe!' Maria laughed as she finally met her colleagues.

'Maria! Dr. Cunningham!' Tomoe smiled widely. 'I'm so happy everyone's safe and sound!'

'Yeah, about that…' Gabe chewed on his cigarette. 'Adam's in surgery right now'

'What?' Dr. Freebird jumped.

'Relax, he's not in danger. Thanks to Maria and the doctors here, I believe he'll make it in one piece'

'That's a relief. But I thought he stayed at Resurgam' Dr. Tachibana noted.

'Yeah, he sneaked on the ship. Thought we were going to some tropical island'

'By the way, shouldn't we check on the other patients?' Hank asked. 'There were more people with you, weren't there?'

'Wait, Dr. Freebird' Tomoe intervened. 'Don't you think they should rest first?'

'Nah, that's okay. All we did there for hours was rest, anyway' Gabe smirked. 'If Maria here is up for it, I'd say we give the staff here a hand'

'Yeah! Let's do it!' Maria smiled.

After consulting with the doctors from the hospital, the four went to the ER room and checked on the other patients.

Using proper equipment, Maria managed to heal the woman with the burns completely.

The others also did what they could, and soon, from the entire ER, only one patient was left unchecked.

Tomoe went to the man and looked at him.

He was dressed entirely in black and was wearing a T-shirt, a baseball cap and sunglasses.

The man was looking down, obviously deep in thought.

'Sir… Are you hurt?' Tomoe gently asked. 'Do you feel any pain?'

The man slowly turned his head up, as if only to catch a glimpse of the doctor's face.

'Sir… Can you speak? Are you alright?'

'Wait a second…' Maria carefully looked at the man. 'He wasn't on the boat with us! I've never seen this guy before!'

'He's not one of our patients either!' Valerie noted. 'Hey! Who are you?'

The man sighed and slowly got up, still looking down.

Then, in an instant, he ran behind Tomoe and grabbed her by the neck, holding her tightly with his left hand.

And with the right one, he pulled a gun out of his pocket and pointed it at the doctors.

All of this happened in less than a second.

'WHAT THE…' Gabe yelled.

'Sir…' Tomoe shivered.

'Please, let her go!' Hank stepped forward, standing right in front of the gun. 'There's no need for violence'

'Dr. Freebird! Get away!' Tomoe screamed when she saw her friend stand in the way of the weapon.

After only a few seconds, the entire staff present in the room was on their feet, slowly surrounding the man in black.

'You freak!' Dr. Torres yelled. 'Let her go right now!'

'Maria!' Gabe looked at her, then shifted his view back at the man in black. 'Look, just tell us what you need. Drop the gun, and we'll do our best to help you'

The man smirked, then, in a matter of seconds, he shot the fire extinguisher, causing the room to quickly fill with steam. Then, he put the gun back in his pocket, took Tomoe in his hands and started running away.

Dr. Tachibana shivered in fear. She tried to stay calm, but who knew where that dangerous man was taking her… and what he was planning to do with her when they arrived.


	10. Familiar Faces

**10. FAMILIAR FACES**

'Please… that's enough. I can walk on my own' Tomoe asked kindly.

The stranger didn't respond.

'It is against the path of honor to ignore your captive's wishes!' Tomoe noted.

'Dr. Tachibana…' the stranger finally spoke. 'I strayed from the path of honor a long time ago'

'It's never too late to go back on track, Mr. Wesker' she smiled.

The man smirked, then stopped running and carefully put Tomoe down.

'Dr. Tachibana, I trust that you will not escape once given the chance'

'Of course not. A captive must know her place. That's what the path of honor says'

'Please, do not consider yourself my captive' the man looked at her. 'I am merely in need of your services'

'What do you mean?'

Wesker pointed at a seemingly abandoned building.

'In here, please'

Tomoe followed him as he entered and looked around.

Inside the building was a soldier with a machine gun.

'Boss!' he saluted.

Wesker nodded and lead Tomoe deeper inside.

After walking the corridors for about a minute, Wesker suddenly made a sharp turn and opened a door, then entered, with Dr. Tachibana following him.

Inside, there was another soldier.

His muscular body and handsome face made him look like the stereotypical action hero from movies.

'Boss!' he jumped from his chair. 'Is this her? Is this the doctor?'

'That's right. Matthew, I want you to meet Dr. Tomoe Tachibana, from Resurgam'

'Doctor' Matthew smiled.

'The pleasure is all mine' Tomoe bowed.

'Please, you have to help him!'

'What's wrong?'

Wesker pointed to a bed in the back of the room.

On it, another soldier was lying.

He was much younger than the other two, apparently barely old enough to qualify being in the military. He had brown hair and blue eyes, and was also pretty tall for his age. But what caught Tomoe's attention was the bandaged wound on right hand.

'Mr. Wesker!' he smiled. 'You're back!'

'I brought you someone for the wound. Dr. Tachibana, this is Connor, my youngest subordinate. Earlier we were attacked by infected people. We managed to fend them off, but one of them bit him'

'Really? Can I see?'

'Sure!' the soldier smiled.

Tomoe smiled back and quickly undid the bandage.

What she saw underneath shocked her.

'Necrosis…'

'Every member of my squad is trained in basic first aid. However, when we saw that it was much worse than we thought… I decided to find a specialist'

'This is not good… How're you feeling, Connor? Fever? Exhaustion?'

'All of the above' he responded.

Tomoe stood up and looked at Wesker, then quietly whispered in his ear:

'He's infected'

'I suspected as much. Can you do anything?'

'I don't think so. He needs the cure for the virus, and fast'

'We don't have the cure!' Matthew yelled. 'Can't you do anything for him without it?'

The doctor sadly shook her head.

'With the proper medication, I can treat the symptoms, but… Without the cure, he's going to lose his mind in less than 24 hours'

'That's good enough for now. What do you need?'

'Hmm…' Tomoe thought, then listed a few medications and supplies. 'Can you find them for me?'

'Of course. Me and Krauser will go to the village'

'What?' Matthew jumped. 'It's full of infected in there!'

'Both of us are immune to any forms of the T-Virus' Wesker noted. 'We should be back soon. You stay here and protect Connor and Dr. Tachibana'

'With my life, sir!' Matthew smiled.


	11. A Chance Encounter

**11. A CHANCE ENCOUNTER**

'Aw, damn it! How the hell are we supposed to find them here?' Gabe put a cigarette in his mouth and looked around.

The only inhabited place on Rockfort, the village, was completely abandoned.

Or at least it seemed that way.

'Oh, quit complaining! You and I both know we have to find Tomoe! What if something happens to her?'

'Well excuse me for not wanting to look for her at a village full with zombies!'

'Zombies?' Maria looked at her friend strangely. 'Never mind… But we need to find her exactly because that's the only infected place on the island. What if something happens to her?'

'Now that you mention it… I haven't seen a soul anywhere. Any idea where the—'

*BANG! BANG!*

'Oh, for crying out loud! Can't I say anything without it materializing instantaneously?' Gabe sighed and started running towards the gunshots.

After only a few moments, the two doctors found out where they came from.

A large crowd of infected was chasing after 2 people.

'What the…' Maria gasped. 'There's so many of them…'

'Most of the population of the island. Come on!' Gabe said and started running.

'Hey! What about those people? We have to help them!'

'They haven't noticed us yet! Maybe we can—'

'HEEEY!' a man yelled. 'You! Help us!'

Gabe facepalmed, then looked at them.

'How? We don't have any weapons!'

'Think of something!' the other person being chased, a young girl, shouted.

Gabe looked around and grabbed Maria by the hand.

'Hey, what are you…'

In a matter of seconds, the two of them reached a house. Gabe quickly opened it and dragged both of them inside, then waved at the two people.

They also ran towards the door and jumped in.

Gabe, not wasting any time, quickly closed the door and locked it.

The infected banged on the door for a while, then gave up and went away.

'Phew! Thanks for that!' the girl thanked him.

'Nice thinking, Gabe!' Maria winked.

'Just make sure it DOESN'T happen again, alright? Now, who are you two?'

The girl stood up.

'I'm Claire Redfield. That's Steve' she pointed at her friend.

'What's up'

'I'm Dr. Gabriel Cunningham, and this is Maria Torres'

'DOCTOR Maria Torres!' she hissed.

The paramedic didn't really insist on formalities, but figured she could use the respect her title gave her in the eyes of the strangers.

'Yeah, whatever… Hey, wait a second…' Gabe looked at Steve's uniform. 'Rockfort Prison? You're a con?'

'Both of us are' Claire confirmed. 'We escaped from Umbrella's prison when the virus started spreading'

'UMBRELLA?' Dr. Cunningham gasped. 'What the… I thought it closed after the Cumberland incident!'

'Its main body did, but its branches are still active' the girl explained. 'I infiltrated the one in France, and that's what got me here'

'Infiltrated?' Maria asked. 'What are you, exactly? Some kind of special agent?'

'Oh, nothing like that!' Claire blushed. 'I'm just… Well, it's a long story'

'I agree. We don't have much time. We have to keep looking' Gabe said as he peeked through the window.

'You're searching for something?' Steve asked.

'Yeah. Our friend was kidnapped by some lunatic. We suspect she's somewhere around here'

'Hmm…' Claire thought. 'Steve, you know the island better than I do. If there are any places where there might still be people, where would they be?'

'Hey, why're you asking me?' Steve jumped. 'I thought we were going to the hospital for extraction!'

'We can't leave them like that! They saved our lives!'

'You don't have to feel obligated to come with us, you know' Maria noted.

'Yeah, but we'll be safer if there's four of us…' the diagnostician smoked some of his cigarette. 'Tell you what… You help us find our friend, and we'll get you to the hospital. That's where we come from'

'Sounds good to me!' Claire smiled. 'Steve?'

'Hmm, this sounds dangerous… Count me in!' he grinned.


	12. Remniscence

**12. REMNISCENCE **

'Here' Wesker threw a small bag to Tomoe, who caught it in mid-air.

'Is everything here?'

'Everything you requested'

'Alright. I'll go and administer the medicine. Please, wait here'

Wesker turned around and went to the nearby room, then sat on a chair. The soldier with him did the same.

'Boss, what are we going to do now? What if he doesn't make it?'

'We'll continue the mission as planned. It is way too important'

The soldier frowned.

'But boss, with only three of us, how are we going to continue? The unit's small enough as it is! We can't afford to lose men!'

'I trust that he's in good hands for now. Not to mention, Connor might be young, but he can be stubborn as a bull. He'll hold out until the cure is developed'

'And what if he doesn't?'

'Than you know what to do'

'There, the fever should drop soon. After about half an hour, you should feel good as new' Tomoe smiled.

'Thank you, Doctor' Connor smiled back.

'Not at all. If anything in your condition changes, however, please inform me immediately'

'Of course! But I don't think that'll be the case. As long as I can walk and can hold a weapon, I'll be fine!' the young man gave a thumbs-up.

'This is serious' the doctor looked at the young soldier sharply. 'Please, tell me if anything happens, however small it is'

Connor suddenly realized the seriousness of the situation, so he simply nodded.

'Alright, I'll leave you alone for a while. Try not to fall asleep' Dr. Tachibana said in her usual calm tone and left the room, then went straight to Wesker.

'How's he?'

'It's not good. He needs the cure immediately. His body is on the verge of succumbing to the virus. The symptoms should disappear for now, but in a few hours, he'll start getting weaker and weaker. If I could guess, I'd say he has no more than a few hours'

'A FEW HOURS?' Krauser stood up angrily. 'You said he had a day left!'

Tomoe wasn't intimidated by the soldier's reaction.

'That's what I thought as well. But this virus is different. It's clearly a close relative to the T-Virus, but is much, much stronger. That's why the T-virus cures don't work – its functions are the same, but essentially, it's a different virus'

'Were Caduceus informed about this?' Wesker asked calmly.

'I believe so. We're expecting the cure anytime now. The only question is whether or not Connor'll hold out that long'

'I see. Thank you for sharing' Wesker said calmly.

'This is bullcrap! There's gotta be something' Krauser said angrily and went outside.

'I apologize for my subordinate. We're not used to losing people like that'

'Who are "you", exactly?' Tomoe asked.

The doctor knew curiosity wasn't the way of honor, but she just couldn't help it.

'Well, I suppose you should know what I've been up to since I escaped from Cumberland' Wesker smiled. 'Right after you treated me, I decided to form an anti-BOW team to try and prevent similar outbreaks. I guess you can call it… my atonement'

Tomoe kept silent.

'I call the unit the BSAA. We're a non-government organization, and that's why there's so few of us. Our very existence can be considered an act of terrorism. That's why all of my men are… not exactly on good terms with the government'

'What do you mean?'

'Well, you already know about me. Krauser here is also an ex-soldier. His arm was injured in a mission by a BOW. Ever since then, the government's rejected him, so he came here. Matthew was an Umbrella operative who was sent to Cumberland to… clean up the mess'

'Clean up?'

'That's right. After I caused the outbreak, Umbrella did not expect the city to survive. He was sent there with orders to kill everyone that's infected and cut off the disease at the cost of one city. However, you and Caduceus managed to work things out, thus causing a major blow to Umbrella's reputation. After the company fell apart, he found me and joined the team'

'And what about Connor?'

'Oh, him…' Wesker looked away. 'He is, what you may call, a child of my sins'

'Excuse me?'

'During the incident at Cumberland, his entire family, including him, were infected. He's the only one who made it'

'Yes, I remember there were casualties during the outbreak' Tomoe looked down.

'He was… determined to find me and take revenge, so he did. However, even though he's good with communications and managed to track me down, when he actually tried to kill me… Well, let's just say he wasn't trained as a soldier'

'And then what?' Tomoe asked interested.

'I disarmed him and explained him the truth. Told him about my mission, and that I was working on preventing such outbreaks' Wesker adjusted his sunglasses. 'Well, he is a bit naïve… He believed me immediately. And then, something about me clicked. He reminded me of someone I knew a while ago, so I asked him if he wanted to join me. He agreed. For the last 2 months, me and the rest of the team have been training him. The boy has… natural talent, you could say'

'I see…'

'That's why the others are so concerned about his condition, Dr. Tachibana. When you spend a long time training someone, you inevitably get attached to them'

'And what about you, Mr. Wesker? Do you get attached?'

Albert smiled.

'I also trained Connor, you know'


	13. Game of Death

**13. GAME OF DEATH**

'Wow… Creepy' Maria noted, looking at the huge mansion.

'Are you sure there's people in there?' Gabe bit his cigarette.

'Almost' Steve smiled.

'ALMOST?'

'Yeah… It's the most secure place on the island. If there's someone that needs a safehouse, they'd most likely come here'

'Well, only one way to find out' Claire noted and stepped forward. 'Let's go!'

Slowly and carefully, the group entered the mansion and looked around.

'Helloooo! Anyone here?' Maria yelled.

'Quiet!' the diagnostician looked at her. 'If there's someone in here you shou—'

*BANG*

Dr. Cunningham froze, then fell on the ground.

'GABE!' Maria ran to him as Claire and Steve took their weapons out.

'Who are you?' the boy yelled. 'Show yourself, you coward!'

'He shot from up there!' Claire pointed to the stairs. 'Take cover!'

'Gabe! Gabe!'

The diagnostician opened his eyes and smiled.

'Aw, come on now! Remember what I told you on the beach?' he said and lifted his shirt.

And underneath was a Kevlar vest.

'What the… Where did you get something like that?'

'Never leave home without it is my motto. Or rather, don't go on an island full of mindless zombies without it'

'Wow, how convenient!' Dr. Torres yelled.

'Hey, would you've preferred it if I died?' Gabe slowly rose. 'He hit me in the chest!'

'But why didn't you tell me you had it on?'

'I did! I showed it to everyone on the ship!'

'What! I don't re—'

'Hey, the couple!' Steve yelled. 'A little help here?'

'A COUPLE?' Maria blushed.

'Heh… Guess I still got it' Gabe smirked and got up.

'Well, will you look at that? I seem to have missed!'

'Who are you? Show yourself!' the paramedic screamed.

'Oh, me? How is it possible that you, little rats, haven't recognized me yet?'

The shooter slowly revealed himself from his cover. He was a tall man, with blond hair and a red suit.

'That's… You! Alfred Ashford!' Steve gasped.

'Ashford? But I thought he evacuated!' Claire stated.

'Oh, quite the opposite! I wouldn't leave this mansion for the world! Not when I have such cute little rats to play with… and not right before the Queen's awakening!'

'Queen's awakening?' Gabe yelled. 'What're you talking about?'

'Ooops, did I say that out loud? Guess you're gonna have to play the game to find out!'

'A game?' Claire asked. 'What game?'

'It's simple, really! I shoot, and you die! If you survive, I'll let you go! Sounds fun, doesn't it?'

Steve drew his gun.

'Fun my ass! I'll show you who's a rat, you freak!'

The boy started to shoot at Ashford, completely ignoring the silhouette of a young girl silently observing him from the shadows.


	14. The Power of the Stars

**14. THE POWER OF THE STARS**

Dr. Vaughn sat on the sofa and closed his eyes.

He was dead tired from the surgery he just finished.

The young doctor wasn't used to operating twice in one day.

All he wanted was to go home and get a nice, warm bath.

But he knew full well that this was not possible, at least not until the outbreak was dealt with.

'Dr. Vaughn!' he heard a voice.

Markus turned his head.

It was the first patient he operated that day.

'Oh, Dr. Freebird, was it?'

'That's right' Hank nodded.

'How're you holding up?'

'I'm fine. That's not the reason I came to see you'

Dr. Vaughn sighed.

'It's about your friend, isn't it? Dr. Graham?'

'That's right. How did the surgery go?'

The doctor put his hand on his forehead.

'The procedure was hard. The object had scraped several organs, though we're lucky there wasn't a perforation. He's stable now. I expect a full recovery'

The orthopedist smiled.

'Thank you'

'I'm just doing my job. You should know that best of all' Markus smiled.

'Indeed. By the way, Doctor Vaughn… Forgive me if I offend you, but why is a skilled surgeon such as yourself on an island in the middle of nowhere?'

'No offense taken, don't worry. And… I don't exactly like crowded cities. I prefer quieter hospitals'

'I see… If you'll excuse my curiosity, I have another question'

'Sure, what is it?'

'I couldn't help but notice that there are only two surgeons in the hospital – you and a girl…'

'Dr. Blaylock?'

'I think so. Isn't she too young to be a surgeon?'

Markus smiled.

'She is. She's an intern'

'Oh, I see…'

'I haven't had much interaction with her, but from what I can see, she's a natural. Give her… about ten years, and she'll be one of the best'

'That's an ambitious claim. Do you think she'll really do it?'

'That's up to her, isn't it?'


	15. Temporary Solution

**15. TEMPORARY SOLUTION**

'Half an hour passed. He should come soon' Tomoe said as she looked at the clock on the wall.

'I see…' The man in black next to her responded.

'By the way, Mr. Wesker, if I may… You told me your team's story, but you never told me about… yourself'

'Myself?'

'I only know you from the Cumberland outbreak. You've never told me anything about your past'

'My past is a book I'd like to keep closed, Dr. Tachibana…'

'Oh… I see…'

'Besides… My past isn't very interesting anyway. Suffice to say, I was a good soldier who did some bad things. I killed a lot of people for my own personal gain. I wasn't exactly the type you'd want to be close to'

'A soldier? You mean… S..S.?'

'Huh? You've heard about S.T.A.R.S.?'

'Not really' the surgeon smiled. 'It says so on your knife'

'You have a good eye, Dr. Tachibana. But S.T.A.R.S. is no more, and I'm the reason why. It's not something I wish to go back to'

'I… I see…'

'And what about you, Dr. Tachibana? You haven't told me anything about yourself either. The only thing I know about you is what I found listed in the Umbrella database'

'I have a profile in the database?'

'Don't be shocked, all military, medical or scientific personnel in the US have profiles. That's how they select appropriate employees. But even that information wasn't too much. I know that you're a heiress of the Tachibana clan, and I also know you moved to the US to study medicine. The question is, why abandon such a royal life for a doctor's?'

'Mr. Wesker, have you ever been forced to be something against your will? Just knowing that you were meant to be something much bigger, but are stuck somewhere where you don't feel like you belong?'

Wesker kept silent.

'Now you know the answer'

'Boss, the path to the mansion is clear!' Krauser said upon opening the door.

'Excellent'

'Yeah, no infected, no obstacles, no nothing. We can be there in 15 minutes if we go on foot!' Matthew said and entered the room, then sat on a chair.

Krauser quickly followed him.

'There should still be enough time if we go now. Do you have the… package?'

'On me' Krauser pointed to his rather heavy backpack.

'Perfect. Now all we need…'

'Hey, guys!' Connor waved to the soldiers.

Immediately, Krauser and Matthew stood up.

'How are you feeling?' Wesker asked calmly.

'Good as new! All thanks to you, Doctor!' the young soldier grinned.

'Don't thank me yet. You still need the antidote' Tomoe noted. 'Please, don't push yourself too hard until then!'

'Got it!'

Wesker smiled slightly, then got up as well.

'Well, we don't have any more time to waste. Let's head for the mansion!'


	16. The Game Must Go On

**16. THE GAME MUST GO ON**

'Damn it! Doesn't he ever run out of bullets?' Steve wondered.

'Listen closely' Gabe whispered. 'I'll go and try to distract him. There are two sets of stairs. Go for the opposite one and sneak up on him'

'Gabe, you can't do that! You may have a vest but your head's still exposed!'

'That's a chance I'll have to take!'

'Be careful, Dr. Cunningham!' Claire said.

Gabriel nodded and quickly dodged, exposing himself to enemy fire.

'Ha! I see what you're trying to do there!' Alfred laughed and shot a few rounds at the diagnostician.

Luckily, none of them hit.

'Aw, damn it!' Gabe said to himself as he hid behind a pillar. After a few seconds of hiding, he jumped out of the cover once again, aiming for the stairs.

'Are you really that empty-minded to consider even for a moment that this strategy would work?'

*BANG*

'Agh!' Gabriel yelled as he fell down, a bullet hitting him straight in the chest.

"DAMN IT! Even with a Kevlar, these things hurt like hell!" he thought and tried to get up, but couldn't.

The pain was too great.

'Well will you look at that! It would appear that I poisoned one little rat. Now, where are the others…'

'Right here!' Claire yelled from the upper floor, then lunged at Alfred.

*BANG*

'Aaaargh!' the girl fell on the floor and grabbed her bleeding shoulder.

'CLAIRE!' Steve yelled from behind.

'Oh, my cute, little rats! Do you really think I didn't see past your strategy? Even a child could easily see through that!'

'Why are you doing this?' Maria yelled. 'Don't you think there's enough suffering on this island already? Why do you cause more?'

'I don't care about any of the pests that inhabit this piece of rock! They can all die for all I care! My only purpose here is to protect the Queen and awaken her! It is my duty to stop the likes of you from getting to her!'

'Queen? What are you talking about?' Steve asked. 'What queen?'

'Don't play dumb on me! I know you were sent here to destroy my Queen! Well, no more!' Alfred raised his gun and pointed it at Maria.

'Wha— No, nothing like that! We're doctors! We're only trying to help!'

'LIES! You all lie! Every stinking rat lies! None of you is pure! And none of you deserve to live!'

'No, listen to me! My name is Maria Torres, I'm a doctor from Cumberland! We were sent here to help the island!'

'Why… DO YOU KEEP LYING TO ME! I KNOW YOUR TRUE PURPOSE! And now…' Alfred took the safety off. 'You will die for it'

*BANG*

'Eh?' Maria looked around.

Alfred had dropped his gun and was looking at his bloodied hands.

'What the…' he could only say before falling on the ground.

'Target down' Matthew exclaimed.

'Nice job' Wesker stepped forward.

Maria gasped.

'YOU! What are you doing here?'

'Maria!'

Everyone in the room turned their heads at the door.

'TOMOE!' Maria jumped down and strongly hugged her friend.

Tomoe gently returned the hug and smiled.

'It's alright. They're friends'

'Claire…' Steve went to her. 'Hang in there!'

'I'm alright, Steve! Just a scratch, see?' the girl slowly got up.

Maria turned around and looked at her.

'Yeah, from what I can see, it's not serious. Come here, I'll patch you up in no time!'

'Ouch…' Gabe slowly got up. 'What's up, Tomoe? We came to rescue you… Again…'

'That was not needed, Dr. Cunningham. Mr. Wesker and his unit had good intentions when they took me. Although…' she turned to Albert. 'It would be nice if you could just ask next time. That is the way of honor'

'I'll keep that in mind' Wesker noted.

Maria went upstairs and took out her first aid kit, then started treating Claire's wound.

'So, why exactly are you guys here, anyway?'

Wesker turned around.

'Connor, tell them'

'Sure!' the young soldier smiled. 'See this building right here? That's the Ashford manor. More than 15 years ago, a girl called Alexia Ashford invented a new strain of the T-Virus called the T-Veronica virus. And… Well, she… She experimented with it, and… Found out it was very strong… Much… Much stronger… But was also… Unstable… So she made a plan… To… To…'

He fell on the ground.

'CONNOR!' Matthew shouted.

Tomoe ran to him.

'Connor, what happened?' she asked.

'Stay… Away… Stay away from me…'

'Connor, what are you talking about?'

'Stay…' tears started falling down the young soldier's face. 'Stay away. I'm… turning…'

'What the…' Krauser jumped. 'So soon?'

'AAAAAAAARGH!' Connor screamed from the pain.

'Hey, Doctor!' Matthew looked at Tomoe. 'What do we do?'

'I… Don't know…'

'Kill… Kill me… Kill me, please…' Connor begged.

'WHAT?' Maria jumped.

Wesker kept silent.

'Please… I'll… Just… Do it… AAARGH! Oh God… There isn't much time…'

'You know what?' Krauser took his gun out and pointed it at the young man's head. 'I'm just gonna kill you'

'KRAUSER!' Matthew yelled.

'Yes, that's right, I'm gonna kill you. If the person I spent the last two months training doesn't even have the will to fight, let alone win, and just chooses the easy way out, then I'm going to kill him! What use do we have from a weakling like you, huh? Everybody believed in you!'

Connor froze.

'Everybody! Me, Matthew, the boss… Our unit is small. We're like a family. Everybody tried to make sure you inherit the best of this family… And if our efforts were for nothing, then I'm going to make damn sure you die!'

'Krauser…' Matthew shook.

Connor just stood there, motionless.

And then, he started to rise.

'I… I won't die like this…' he said. 'I WON'T DIE LIKE THIS!'

Krauser grinned and put his gun back in the holster.

'That's the spirit. Don't stop fighting, kid! Help is on its way'

All eyes were on the youngest member of the BSAA.

Everybody could see the great deal of pain he was going through on his face, but he himself refused to acknowledge it.

'I'm not gonna give up… AAAAAAAAARGH! I WON'T!'

'That's our Connor, stubborn as a bull' Matthew laughed.

Claire was observing the entire scene from the second floor and couldn't believe her eyes.

'What the… He's resisting the virus… By sheer willpower! That's impossible!'

'When it comes to the T-Virus, the mind is the last thing that falls' Gabe noted. 'If he manages to hold out to that long enough… Then there's still a chance…'

'Gah… AH!' Connor vomited blood, then fell on one knee.

'CONNOR!'

'What's happening, Gabe?' Maria turned to him.

'His body is resisting. At this rate, it won't hold out long!'

'Here!'

The boy reached and grabbed what was thrown to him in mid-air.

It was a syringe.

'Intravenous. Quickly!'

'RAAAAGH!' Connor yelled and stuck the long needle in his neck, injecting the contents.

'Oh my God!' Maria gasped as she looked at the open door.

'What's up, Naomi?' Gabe smiled and smoked the rest of his cigarette.


	17. Backup from Caduceus

**17. BACKUP FROM CADUCEUS**

'I was worried that something like this might happen' Naomi stated. 'By the way, you should feel fine in a few minutes. The antidote is as fast-acting as the virus itself. Nice job holding out for so long, by the way'

'Ughm… Thanks…' Connor rubbed his neck. 'Who are you, anyway?'

'I'm Naomi Kimishima, a surgeon for Caduceus'

'Wait, wait… My ears appear to be failing me' Gabriel put another cigarette in his mouth and approached his friend. 'A _surgeon_?'

'That's right. Apparently, my help with both the Rosalia and T-Virus outbreaks wasn't in vain. My medical license was restored. I have to do some investigative work for the FBI occasionally, but on a daily basis, I'm a full-fledged surgeon'

'Wow, congratulations, Miss Kimishima! I am so glad for you!' Tomoe smiled.

'Oh yeah!' Maria grinned. 'Nice going!'

'Hey, Naomi, is everything alright?' a young man wearing glasses also came through the door.

'Derek?' Gabe gasped. 'You too are here?'

Dr. Stiles blushed.

'Well, yeah… After me and Naomi heard about your ship sinking, we decided you might need help, so… here we are…'

'Hi! I'm here too!' a blond nurse appeared smiling through the door.

'Miss Angie!' Tomoe smiled.

'That's not all of us' Naomi winked. 'We actually got two new members this year'

'Wait… No way' Gabe froze.

And then, another silhouette appeared at the door.

'AAAaaaaaw, NO WAY!' Gabe grinned from ear to ear.

'Doctor Cunningham, I'm glad to see you again. Dr. Tachibana… Maria'

'NO WAY! Dr. Torres and Tomoe shouted at the same time.

Everybody stared at the door as the young, black-haired surgeon entered through.

'Hey, uhm… Sorry to break this reunion, but… Who are you all?' Steve asked.

The black-haired doctor stepped forward. 'My name is Erhard Sartre, general surgeon for Caduceus'

Gabe went to the young doctor and gave him a strong hug.

'Dr. Cunningham… What was that for?'

'To congratulate you. You've worked off your entire sentence, right?'

Dr. Sartre smiled.

'Yeah'

'Congratulations, kid'

'Thank you, Doctor Cunningham'


	18. Back to Work

**18. BACK TO WORK**

'Alright, alright, enough of this reunion crap already' Krauser stated. 'We've got work to do'

'He's right' Naomi looked at them. 'We've got both the antidote and the vaccine. The syringe he took was a mixture of both. Congratulations, you're completely immune to the T-Veronica virus'

'Awesome!' Connor grinned.

'And I'd heavily recommend all of you here to take the vaccine as well. We already took it back in the helicopter'

'Alright, you heard her!' Dr. Cunningham stepped forward and picked up a syringe from the briefcase Dr. Sartre was holding.

Ten minutes later, everyone was vaccinated.

'My, that was… convenient' Gabe said as he threw away the last empty syringe. 'How DID you manage to make a vaccine so soon, anyway?'

'Well, that's a pretty complicated story' Dr. Stiles said. 'I don't know if you're aware of this, but the Ashford family had connections with the Umbrella corporation'

'Yeah, I heard a thing or two about that'

'Many of the scientists still live and work here' Angie took the word. 'Somehow, they managed to obtain a pure sample of the T-Veronica virus soon after the outbreak. They started developing a vaccine immediately, then called us just to be sure'

'I see…'

'Hey, what about the guy I shot?' Matthew asked. 'Any vaccines remaining for him?'

'Yeah, about him…' Claire turned around. 'He escaped almost as soon as he got shot. Went deeper into the mansion'

'WHAT?' Wesker yelled. 'You let him go?'

'Y-yeah' the girl flinched. 'I… thought it was okay. He was shot and…'

Matthew, Krauser and Connor immediately pulled out their weapons.

'Krauser, take Connor! Matthew, on me! Let's move ASAP! We cannot allow the Queen's awakening!'

'The Queen?' Steve asked. 'Hey, man, I think we need some answers here!'

'There is no time for answers, kid!' Krauser yelled. 'Connor, we take the left wing'

'Gotcha!'

'Mr. Wesker…' Tomoe asked, not sure of what to do.

'Dr. Tachibana, stay here!' Wesker asked, then quickly left the room alongside his soldiers.

'Tomoe, any idea about what's going on?' Gabe asked.

'No, Mr. Wesker never told me anything about that'

'Naomi? Kid? Anyone? Does anyone know anything?'

A few moments of silence.

'So, are we gonna follow them or what? Come on!' Maria said and climbed the stairs again.

'Are you sure this is the right course of action?' Erhard asked. 'They told us to wait here'

'Hey, do you really think I'll just leave them alone? Screw that!'

'I agree' Gabe went to the second floor as well. 'Count me in'

'Count me in as well! I gotta get this bastard for what he did to Claire!' Steve jumped.

'Well, I think that the rest of us should stay here' Naomi looked at her friends. 'Unless, of course, there are any objections'

'I think so too' Derek adjusted his glasses. 'You three go. We'll prepare the vaccines for distribution amongst uninfected citizens'


	19. The Dragonfly

**19. THE DRAGONFLY**

"Damn it… Damn it… It wasn't supposed to go like this!" Alfred thought.

The young man was running, holding his injured shoulder.

"DAMN IT! Why? Why today? After 15 years of loneliness… Why TODAY?"

Alfred stopped and listened carefully.

He could clearly hear footsteps approaching.

'NO!' he screamed, then started running again. 'You can't do this!'

"Damn it! My Queen… I am so worthless… I tried to kill them, and I failed you. I tried killing this whole damn island off just to prepare for Your arrival… I failed you…"

'Alfred's there!' Matthew yelled.

'Good! Do not let him reach the stasis chamber at any cost!'

'NOOO!' the man stumbled, but quickly got back on his feet.

"My Queen… Fifteen years… And I can't even wake You up on time… But don't worry. You will be free to unleash your anger once I awaken You…"

'Aim for the leg, Matthew'

'Roger that' the soldier pointed his gun at Alfred and shot.

The blond man immediately fell on the ground, but got up in a matter of seconds and kept on running.

'What? Did I miss?'

'No, you hit' Wesker quietly commented. 'Come on'

"It hurts…" Alfred looked at his bleeding leg. "Hurts so much… But I know that's nothing compared to your pain, my Queen. So I'll bear it. For you. For both of us. I will bear all of my pain, so that I may bear yours as well"

'How the hell is he so fast? Do you think he might be infected?'

'I highly doubt it. It's more like sheer willpower'

'Then we're all set. Willpower can't last forever'

'True, but he doesn't need it to last forever. We're almost at the stasis chamber'

"Yes… My Queen…" Alfred grinned from ear to ear. "Soon, we'll be together! Just like old times, remember? You will crush these ants, you will punish me for my carelessness, and we will stay together forever! Nothing will separate us ever again!"

Wesker sighed.

'I didn't want to do this, but he left us no choice. 'Aim for the head'

Matthew slowly aimed his gun.

'…Roger that'

*BANG!*

Suddenly, Alfred fell on the ground.

'Got him'

Wesker kept silent.

'Confirm the kill'

'Roger'

The soldier slowly approached Alfred's body and aimed his gun to the man's head.

"My… Queen…"

'AAAAAAAAARGH!'

Alfred got up, grabbed Matthew's gun, tossed it aside, then punched the soldier in the face.

Wesker was quick to react, as he picked up his own pistol and shot Alfred twice in the chest.

The man fell, but got up once again and kept running.

Wesker prepared to fire again, but his target suddenly took a sharp turn.

The commander quickly went to see his subordinate and check if he was alright.

'Hey!'

'I'm fine. Let's go!'

The soldiers kept running, following Alfred.

But when they finally caught up with him a few minutes later, it was already too late.

The man in red was in a room that looked like it was taken out of a science fiction film – it was very metallic and looked extremely high-tech.

He was typing something on a computer, dangerously located on a platform suspended in the air.

'NO!' Matthew screamed.

Wesker took out his gun and shot Alfred two more times.

"Yes… You see, my Queen… I… woke you up…" the man smiled as he coughed up some blood. "I…"

_CANCEL SUBJECT'S CRYOGENIC CONFINEMENT? Y/N_

"…did…"

_Y_

"…it!"

'NO! DAMN IT, NO!'

_SUBJECT AWAKENING FROM CRYOGENIC CONFINEMENT_

'YEEEEEEEEEEEES!'

'We were too late…' Wesker looked down. 'After all that, we were too late…'

"That was it… My Queen… I did my part…" Alfred thought, then plunged himself down into the abyss below.

'So, what do we do now?'

'Let's contact Krauser and Connor. We're going to the lower level'

_Meanwhile…_

The girl opened her eyes and swiftly left the stasis pod.

'Alfred?' she asked and looked around her.

'Alexia…'

'Al… Alfred? What happened to you?' she sadly asked as she saw the man's crippled body lying on the ground.

'I… I failed you, my Queen…'

The girl went to her brother and took him in her arms.

'Alfred…'

'Alexia…' the man in red smiled kindly, then closed his eyes.

The sister kindly placed her brother's motionless body on the floor, then got up, rage and determination filling her eyes.

She had a lot to do.


	20. Regroup

**20. REGROUP**

'Damn it… What happened?' Krauser asked.

'She's awake. We need to move out ASAP'

'No way! What are we going to do now?' Connor asked.

'I… don't know. Things didn't go according to plan. We'll have to think of something as we go' Wesker said.

'I'm… sorry' the young soldier looked down. 'If it wasn't for me you would've been on time'

'It's not your fault, dude!' Matthew pat his friend on the back.

'If you feel so guilty about it, then make up for it by thinking of something we can do to fix this!' Krauser adjusted his hat.

'Alright, let's see… First, we need to regroup with the doctors. Alexia's going to go for them first, right? We need to be there to protect them'

'Exactly my thoughts' Wesker nodded. 'Let's just hope they haven't scattered around like I suspect'

The four soldiers quickly ran back, making their way to the lobby without too much effort.

'Alright, everyone, things changed!' Matthew yelled. 'Things took a turn for the worse. For the far, far worse…'

'Why?' Naomi asked. 'What's going on?'

'Well…' Connor stepped forward. 'Remember what I told you earlier? About Alexia Ashford?'

'Yeah, what about it?' Claire asked.

'Well… Fifteen years ago, after doing experiments with the T-Veronica virus, she found out that, just like the T-Virus, directly injecting it is… bad. Very, very bad. The T-Veronica virus is much faster than the ordinary T-Virus, so upon injection, the overdose would completely destroy the body in… about fifteen minutes'

'Oh my…' Tomoe jumped. 'It took days for the T-Virus to do the same thing! What kind of infection is this?'

'A very nasty one. BUT! Being the genius that she is, Alexia calculated that if the body somehow didn't die for a long time, the virus would turn from parasitic to symbiotic in nature, and the infected's abilities will be GREATLY increased'

'Meaning what, exactly?' Derek asked.

'Meaning that if the infected somehow spent 15 years without dying, they'd turn into a demigod'

'Oh… Wait a second!' Angie started to shake. 'She… She spent 15 years in cryogenic sleep!'

'Yeah…' Wesker looked at the door. 'And she just woke up'

'Damn it!' Claire reached for her weapon.

'Bullets won't do much damage. She can regenerate extremely quickly. Enhanced speed, durability and perception. Probably more' Wesker noted.

'Wait, Mr. Wesker… How do you know all this? You can't possibly have predicted all this biological data just like that!'

Wesker turned to Krauser.

The soldier nodded.

'Dr. Tachibana… The truth about me is that I co-exist with the T-Virus inside me'

'WHAT?' Dr. Sartre jumped. 'That's impossible! We destroyed all of it!'

'A significant part – maybe, but not all. Once infected, you can never be cured. All the survivors from the outbreak… They all live with the virus still imprinted in their genetic cells'

'Wait, does this mean there's a chance of another epidemic?' Angie asked.

'I highly doubt that. The virus' relationship with the host is symbiotic, or even if it's not, the remains of the virus are far too weak to do any damage at all'

'But then, if infection with the T-Virus gives you all of these upgrades, why isn't every survivor Superman? Why aren't there any changes in their physical condition?'

'Because, as I said, the amount of T-Virus in their cells is way too small. Originally, they were all infected by just a small drop of the virus. I took an entire, concentrated syringe'

'And now you have… superpowers?' Dr. Stiles scratched his head.

'I wouldn't put it exactly like that, but…'

*SLAM*

'What the…'

'She's coming!' Gabe said, shaking. 'She… She took Steve, and… And Maria ran after them and… WHAT THE HELL IS SHE?'

'Dr. Cunningham…' Tomoe went to him.

'I've never seen anything like this! She's not human! I could barely make it here! She's not human!'

Suddenly, the entire trauma team realized the weight of the situation.

If by far the coolest of them was shocked so much, then things had gotten really, really bad.

Soon, from the same door came out a young, blond woman dressed in a beautiful dress.

She looked at the crowd and laughed.

'Alexia… Ashford…' Connor could only utter.

Wesker and his soldiers immediately drew their guns.

'What now?' Angie asked.

'Well…' Gabriel, a little calmer, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. 'This is the part where she kills us'

'Hello!' Alexia greeted them. 'This is the part where I kill you!'


	21. The Part Where She Kills Them

**21. THE PART WHERE SHE KILLS THEM**

'Calm down!' Dr. Sartre looked at her. 'Nobody needs to die here!'

'Yes, nobody has to' Alexia laughed. 'But I want to!'

'Connor' Wesker addressed the boy without moving his eyes off Alexia. 'I want you to take everyone away from here, got it?'

'Affirmative' Connor smiled.

'And what exactly gives you the idea that I'll let you go?'

'Because you can't do anything about it' Wesker shouted and jumped at Alexia.

'This way! Hurry!' the doctors heard a voice from an open door nearby.

'Over there!' Connor said and started to run towards the voice.

Once everybody was out of the room, the young soldier took one last glimpse at his boss before closing and barricading the door.

Albert tried to land a few punches on his opponent, but all of them were effortlessly blocked.

'Impressive. Such speed, such strength… Is that the power of the T-Virus?'

Wesker jumped back.

'The T-Virus is not a power… It's death, and only death'

'Oh?' Alexia grinned. 'Then how are you still alive?'

The man adjusted his sunglasses.

'I'm stronger than death'


	22. The Secret Aide

**22. THE SECRET AIDE**

'Alright, I think that's far enough…' Gabe caught his breath. 'Now do you mind telling us who you are, and what you're doing here?'

The entire group focused their view on the person in front of them.

It was a young girl, about 15 years old. Surprisingly, she didn't have even a scratch on her.

'My name's Hilly' she introduced herself. 'I'm sorry I couldn't reveal myself before'

'Before…' Gabriel started to think, then suddenly yelled: 'Hey! You're that girl Maria saw on the beach!

'Yes, that was me' she confirmed.

'So you were the one who called the helicopter for us?' Dr. Cunningham asked.

'That's right'

'But what were you doing in the mansion?' Angie looked at her.

'I… Well…'

'Alright, missy, I think we need some answers already!' Krauser went to the girl and grabbed her for the shoulder. 'What's your story?'

'Please, there's no need for violence!' Derek intervened.

'Alright, I'll tell you' Hilly said. 'But you must promise to help me when I do!'

'We'll do whatever we can' Naomi assured her. 'Now tell us, what's wrong?'

The teenage girl took a deep breath.

'My uncle… He's an Umbrella executive. A few days ago we came to the island for an inspection'

'What were you doing with him?'

'Well, it's summer, and I thought that I can go on a vacation with him. I never thought… this would happen… Anyway, during the inspection, a strange disease started to infect the locals'

'That must've been the beginning of the outbreak' Dr. Sartre noted.

'Soon after, most of the people were sick, including my uncle. He instructed me to get a suitcase from his belongings and bring it to a building on the other side of the island'

'The other side of the island?' Dr. Stiles jumped. 'Could it have been that two-story gray building near the rocks?'

'Exactly!' Hilly smiled. 'How did you know?'

'That's the Umbrella research facility on the island! That's where they developed the cure for the T-Veronica virus!'

'So the suitcase she left there was actually a sample of the virus' Naomi noted. 'I wonder how your uncle got a hold of it…'

'Well, he is really powerful in Umbrella. He always gets the newest medicine the company creates'

'Well, that'll do for now' Gabe took the cigarette butt from his mouth. 'After that, you went to the beach, right?'

'That's right. I saw your ship sinking on my way back. When I found you, I immediately called the hospital and let them know where you are'

'Why didn't you show yourself?'

'Well, because…'

'She was most likely scared' Angie smiled. 'Isn't that right?'

'Y-yes… That's right. Then, I went directly back to the mansion and hid here until you showed up'

'I see… Something about your story does sound a bit fishy…' Gabe put a new cigarette in his mouth and reached for his lighter.

'Give her a break, Doctor' Matthew smiled. 'She's just a kid. There's no reason she'd lie to us, right?'

Hilly smiled back.

'Now that this is clear, I think we should go ahead and search for Maria and the others, don't you think?' Naomi said.

'I agree. Let's go' Erhard said and started to walk, with the rest quickly following behind him.

'Mr. Wesker…' Tomoe looked back at the hallway they came from.

'Don't worry' Connor smiled. 'Mr. Wesker's great! He'll most definitely win!'


	23. The Fight

**23. THE FIGHT**

Another carefully aimed strike knocked Wesker's glasses from his face and threw him across the room.

A wound opened on his forehead and started to bleed.

The man pulled himself together and stood up.

'Can't you see? It's useless to fight me! The T-Veronica virus will destroy you!'

'You're the one who can't see' Wesker attacked again. 'The only thing the virus will destroy will be you!'

'Don't be ridiculous! Now, me and Veronica are one! And we are unstoppable!'

'We'll see about that!'

The man kept attacking, but despite his best efforts, all of his attacks, without exception, were blocked.

"Damn it! How's it possible? She's got absolutely no military training at all, and she just woke up from a cryogenic sleep, but she's still able to counter all of my blows!"

Alexia laughed.

'It seems like you really are useless against me after all! Well, no point in prolonging this any further then…'

The girl quickly slashed with her hand across Wesker's chest.

After only a split second, the man was sent flying again.

He crashed against the wall, then fell down.

"What the… She shouldn't be able to do any of this! This is completely impossible! And yet…"

'Oh, what's the matter?' Alexia approached. 'Can't stand up?'

Wesker supported himself with his hand and tried to rise, but his wounds were too bad. The soldier stumbled back on the ground and started to cough blood.

'That's okay' the blond girl smiled and kneeled down next to him. 'I don't want to play with you anymore either. I've got another use for you'

'What… do you want?'

Alexia reached in her pocket, then took out a small syringe.

'That's—'

'Of course!' she laughed. 'The T-Veronica virus, in its purest form! Now you're going to be my guinea pig! Let's see what happens when you have both viruses inside of you…'

'No…'

Alexia grabbed Wesker's arm and pulled the sleeve up.

'It's useless to resist' the girl laughed at her opponent's desperate attempts to break free.

'STOP IT!' the man kicked her and stood up.

Alexia grabbed her stomach with one hand, then rose up as well.

'How rude!'

Wesker leaned on one side.

The adrenaline rush was wearing off, and his wounds were starting to hurt again.

In his condition, he didn't stand a chance against Alexia.

But he also couldn't allow her to inject him with T-Veronica.

Desperately, the man in black started to look around for an exit.

And he found one.

Running as quickly as he could, Wesker headed towards the window.

'Hey! What are you—'

*CRASH*


	24. Broken

**24. BROKEN**

'Heh… I did it…'

'Don't try to talk'

'I won… You hear? You can't stop it now' Alfred laughed.

'I said DON'T TRY TO TALK! Are you even listening?'

'Huh…'

'Your condition is critical! You've been shot I don't know how many times, and pretty much every bone in your body's broken! How're you even alive?'

Alfred slowly focused his eyes on the person next to him.

'You're…'

'Yeah. Now shut up and let me patch you up before I change my mind' Maria said and took out some bandages.

'Why? Why do you help me?'

'Don't let it go through your head. I'm a doctor, you're a patient, that's all. I can't let you die like this'

'I'm afraid… You can't help it… My purpose is done. The Queen is awake. No need for me to live anymore'

'Cut the crap! You're saying your only purpose in life was to awaken that Queen?'

Alfred laughed.

'Exactly!'

Maria sighed.

'You've been this lonely, huh?'

'What do you know…' Alfred turned his head around as Maria cleaned his wounds.

'Heh… I was lonely once, too'

'You were?' the man looked at her again.

'Yeah… I grew up in an orphanage until I turned 18. For all this time, I only had one friend, just one… We were together for a year before she was adopted'

'I am truly sorry' Alfred muttered.

'Alright, quiet now! I'll give you an anesthetic and prepare you for surgery!'

'Surgey?'

'Yeah. A lot of surgeons are here now. One of them's bound to come soon. Just hang on until then, alright?'

'Will you… stay with me?'

'Of course, where do you think I'd go?'

'Thank you… So very much…' Alfred said as he closed his eyes.

'Hey, I haven't administered the anesthetic yet! Alfred! Alfred!' Maria shook him. 'Damn it! Don't die, Alfred!'

She looked around.

'HEY, ANYONE! HELP ME!'

'What's the diagnosis?'

'Multiple bullet wounds and fractions on the bones due to HANK!' Maria got up.

'It's been a while' Dr. Freebird smiled. 'But let's leave that for later and focus on the patient for now. The room's sterile, we should be able to operate. I've brought the necessary tools!'

'Right! Let's get started!'


	25. 15 Minutes Ago

**25. 15 MINUTES AGO**

'Are you sure they're here, Dr. Freebird?' the girl asked.

'Absolutely. No question about it' The orthopedist looked at the mansion door. 'There were gunshots here earlier. They must be here'

'Man…' Dr. Vaughn ran his fingers through his hair. 'I hope we're not running just some wild goose chase… The patients at the hospital still need us…'

'Yes, but keep in mind that if the Resurgam doctors really are in trouble, they'd need our help more, Dr. Vaughn' Valerie smiled.

'You're right. Let's go in'

*CRASH'

The three turned around.

A man dressed in black was lying on the ground, covered in blood.

'Hey! It's you!' Hank exclaimed.

'You know him?'

'He was a patient at Resurgam during the T-Virus outbreak! What are you doing here?'

'Argh…' Wesker stood up. 'No time for explanations…'

'Hey, don't get up!' Markus intervened. 'You just fell through a window. You need treatment'

'I'm fine! The others are in danger right now!'

'I thought so…' Hank said. 'Let's go then!'

'Sir, are you absolutely sure you'll be alright?' Valerie asked.

'Yeah, just give me a few moments…' Wesker said and fell on the ground.

'HEY!'

'Blaylock, take care of him!' Markus ordered. 'Me and Dr. Freebird are going in!'

'Right!'

The girl went to Wesker and opened her suitcase, containing various surgical tools.

'Let's go! She can handle this alone!' Markus headed towards the door.

'Right'

With this, the two surgeons entered and looked around.

'Let's find the room the man flew out of!' Dr. Vaughn said.

'I agree. There may be more people inside'

After a few minutes of running, they finally managed to find the exact same room.

Carefully, Hank opened the door.

Inside, he saw a girl dressed in a red vest and blue jeans.

She turned around as soon as she heard the door opening.

'Please' she said, sobbing. 'Help him! I beg of you!'

The two went to her.

On the ground was lying another man.

He was shaking, obviously in pain.

'Are…' she wiped the tears from her eyes. 'Are you doctors?'

'That's right. Is he infected?'

'Yes. He was injected with something. I think it was the Veronica virus'

'Cla….ire…' the man looked at the girl.

'Steve! They'll help you! They're doctors! You'll save him, right?'

'Yes, I have the cure right here' Dr. Vaughn said. 'But this doesn't look like a normal infection'

'He's mutating' Hank noted. 'When the virus is injected directly, the blood flow leads it to the heart, where it starts mutating, infecting it and later – other organs. You need to open him up and inject the cure directly into the heart!'

'I got'cha. I can handle this here'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes. The lady here will assist me with the surgery. You go and find the others!'

'Alright! I leave it to you!'


	26. Unwilling Assistant

**26. UNWILLING ASSISTANT**

'What's your name?' Dr. Vaughn asked.

'It's Claire. Claire Redfield'

'I'm Dr. Markus Vaughn' the man prepared a needle. 'Now listen carefully. I need you to do EXACTLY as I say, alright?'

'Of course! Anything!'

Markus injected Steve with the anesthetic, then cut his shirt open.

'You see this suitcase over there? Bring it here'

'Right!' she complied.

'Now open it and hand me a scalpel and the bottle of antibiotic gel!'

'Here!'

Markus took the items, then disinfected Steve's chest and made the incision.

Soon, the heart was completely exposed.

Claire shivered.

'Are you feeling sick?' Markus asked.

'No, it's not that… It's just…'

'Is he close to you?'

Claire smiled.

'Yeah…'

'I know what it feels like to have close people cut up in front of you. Don't worry – it's for the best'

'Yeah, I know'

'Hand me over the cure and a syringe'

'Here!'

Dr. Vaughn filled the syringe with the medicine, then injected it in Steve's heart.

'Does it work?' Claire asked.

'I don't know. Let's wait and see'

'GYAAAAAAAAH!' Steve screamed.

'DOCTOR!'

'Damn it!' Markus put his hand on the boy's neck. 'He has no pulse!'

'Oh my God!' Claire started to sob again.

The doctor reached inside Steve's chest and started to massage his heart manually.

'Come on! Come on!'

'What's going on?'

'I think it's a defense mechanism by the virus! The mutated organ stops working when T-Veronica's eradicated!'

'No! Steve! STEVE!'

'Claire! Get his pulse!'

The girl put her fingers on Steve's neck.

'No, not there! You'll feel my massaging instead of his actual heartbeat. Use the wrist!'

'Right!'

The girl wrapped her hands around Steve's wrist and waited.

'Tell me when you feel it!'

'Nothing yet…'

'Come on, come on!'

'DON'T DIE, STEVE!' Claire yelled.

Markus kept on massaging.

Suddenly, Claire gasped, then smiled widely.

'Doctor! I FEEL IT!' she laughed.

Markus let the heart go and observe it.

It was beating by itself.

'Finally… Operation was a success… All we need now is to close him up… Can you please give me the needle and thread?'

'Sure' Claire smiled and handed them to Markus, who quickly completed the surgery.

'Phew…' he laid on the ground as he took his gloves off. 'This was… intense'

'Steve…' Claire held her friend' hand.

'Nice job, by the way. Have you ever considered becoming a surgical assistant?'

'Not until now, but I'll think about it when I'm choosing a career'


	27. Double Threat

**27. DOUBLE THREAT**

'Hey, I don't wanna be a buzzkill, but do we actually have some sort of plan right now?' Gabe asked.

'What're you talkin' about? Of course we do!' Krauser grinned.

'You see this?' Matthew pointed at his backpack.

'Is this… a bomb?' Naomi looked at the big package.

'Not exactly. It's only some C4, a detonator and a timer. This mansion has its own generator. But it's one of the old, unstable ones. Break a few things on the right places and it all goes "boom". The problem is, it'll explode immediately, which won't be very pleasant for us. That's why we've got the detonator'

'So once we're all away, the C4 will safely detonate, resulting in a larger explosion, right?'

'Exactly! The mansion and all the T-Veronica samples will go straight to hell' Krauser said.

'My, my, what an excellent plan!'

Everyone turned around.

'You!'

'But now that I know of it, I can't allow it to happen, can I?'

Krauser took out his gun.

'You damned b—'

'NO!' Connor intervened. 'You know what the orders are!'

'Ksh… Damn it…' the soldier lowered his gun. 'Bring it on! I can kick your ass bare handed!'

'Oh, I sincerely doubt that! Your leader already tried and failed miserably. What chance do you stand, you ant?'

'Mr. Wesker!' Tomoe jumped. 'Where is he? What happened to him?'

'Isn't it obvious?' Alexia grinned. 'He's dead'

Dr. Tachibana shook.

'No… That's not true!'

'Yeah, Mr. Wesker can't be killed by the likes of you!' Connor yelled.

'Oh, really? Maybe I should've brought you his head as proof? Just look outside, his body's probably still rotting there!'

'No… No…' Tomoe kneeled down.

'Boss…' Matthew looked at the ground.

'Now there's nothing stopping me from capping her!' Krauser shouted and raised his gun once more.

*CLASH*

The soldier looked in disbelief as something hit the pistol away from his hands.

'What… is this?'

A strange tentacle-like creature was sticking from the ground.

'Oh, this? He's one of my friends!' Alexia laughed.

'Friends? What're you talking about?' Gabriel asked.

'These tentacles are all over the mansion. And I'm directly in control of every single one of them, at all times!'

Angie gasped.

'No way!'

'This…' the girl in the dress smiled, 'is the _true_ power of the T-Veronica virus!'

Hilly fell on the ground.

'Hey! What's wrong?' Dr. Sartre asked her.

'We… We're not leaving this place alive…'

'You think this is bad, imagine the entire world covered in this stuff… She'll be in direct control of every single little place on the entire Earth…' Derek adjusted his glasses.

'HAHAHA!' Alexia laughed. 'You're finally catching on! Now, any volunteers?'

'Volunteers? For what?'

'To die first, of course!' the girl grinned.

*BANG*


	28. The Final Reunion

**28. THE FINAL REUNION**

Alexia opened her eyes wide, then closed them and fell on the floor.

Behind her, with a smoking gun, stood Wesker.

'BOSS!' Matthew jumped.

'MR. WESKER!' Tomoe laughed. 'I knew you weren't dead!'

'Of course. Unfortunately, death is not something that I can achieve easily' he smiled.

'I'm here too!' Valerie showed up as well.

'You… That doctor from the hospital!' Gabriel said.

'Yeah! With me are also Dr. Freebird and…'

'And Dr. Vaughn, too' the surgeon appeared, smiling.

'Great, you're here too. Any idea where the rest are?'

'Dr. Freebird went to look for you. The fact that he's not yet here tells me he's found some of your friends. I also met up with Steve and Claire. They're downstairs'

'I see. Which means we know where everyone except Maria and Dr. Freebird is. We can assume they're together' Erhard noted.

'Yeah'

'Hey, guys, I don't wanna break the line of thought, but… What about her?' Connor pointed at Alexia.

'We need to get her out of the mansion and operate' Wesker said. 'I really didn't want to shoot, but she gave me no choice'

'Why?' Gabe bit his cigarette. 'I thought it was your mission to kill her'

'What?' Matthew yelled. 'Quite the opposite!'

'Doctor, our mission was never to kill her. It was to save her life from the T-Veronica virus!'

'What?'

'We had to prevent her awakening because the shock from fusing the T-Virus would kill her in mere hours after her awakening'

'Yes' Wesker stepped forward. 'After consulting with a few of our scientists, we realized that due to unreliable testing data, Alexia made a mistake in her calculations. The period of complete integration wouldn't be 15 years. It would be 150. And even then, the only thing it'd accomplish would be that she wouldn't die from it at all. A symbiotic relationship without any mutations whatsoever'

'From what I can see, she's already quite mutated' Naomi noted.

'Yes. A 15 year long stasis period would integrate the virus in her, but only partially. Mutations will still occur'

'Uhm… guys…' Hilly said.

'Not now. So this means, since a few hours have already passed…' Gabriel asked.

'Exactly. Even if I hadn't shot her, she'd have succumbed to the Veronica virus very soon'

'Guys…'

'She's been shot through the lung' Dr. Sartre stated. 'We can pretty much say the infection's already mutated all of her organs, so the perforation of the lung would complicate its treatment several times over'

'Exactly. Saving her life will not be easy' Dr. Vaughn stated. 'I don't think a single surgeon can handle it'

'Well, it's a good thing we don't have only a single surgeon in here, right?' Derek smiled.

'That's right! If all of us work together, we can surely save her!' Valerie nodded.

'GUYS!'

Everyone turned to Hilly.

'Look out the window!'

They did.

What they saw was not pleasant.

'Oh God… How did they get here?'

'Damn it… DAMN IT! WHY NOW?' Krauser readied his weapon.

All of the infected people from the village were in front of the mansion doors and were trying to break in.


	29. It Gets Worse

**29. IT GETS WORSE**

'Damn it! So now not only do we have the most difficult surgery in the world to take care of, we also have an army of zombies waiting to eat our brains! How can this possibly get any worse?' Gabriel asked.

Suddenly, a tentacle emerged from the wall and attacked him.

'HEY!' Krauser pushed the doctor out of the way and cut the tentacle with his knife.

'That's not supposed to happen' Naomi stated. 'She's unconscious'

'Her consciousness is probably now in the tentacles alone'

'And she won't be happy about her upcoming operation…' Dr. Vaughn stated.

'Yeah, way to go, me…' Gabriel sighed. 'I REALLY gotta learn to keep my big mouth shut'

'I'll distract them' Hilly stepped forward. 'I can run REALLY fast. If I focus the attention of the tentacles, they'll leave the surgeons alone, right?'

'It's impossible. There are tentacles all over the mansion, remember?' Dr. Sartre noted.

'Yeah, that's why I'm going with her!' Gabe put a cigarette in his mouth and ignited it. 'If we split up, we should be able to distract twice as many'

'In that case, I'll go too!' Tomoe smiled.

'Great! With three people, we're sure to distract all of the tentacles!' Hilly smiled.

'If that's the case, then me and the rest of the BSAA will hold the line against the infected' Krauser showed his gun. 'Tranquilizers. We all have plenty of them. Should be enough to put every person out there to sleep'

'Then I'll go and prepare the bomb. How long will the surgery take?'

'An hour, at the very least'

Everyone gasped.

'That's a lot of time…'

'But we'll do it! Right?' Hilly turned around.

'Of course!' Connor smiled. 'Most definitely!'


	30. The Surgery Begins

**30. THE SURGERY BEGINS**

'Alright, are we all ready to operate?' Derek asked and looked at the other doctors.

'Of course' Markus sighed. 'I'd still have preferred to have the operation outside of the mansion, though'

'I know, but it's too dangerous to move her with the infected and tentacles around' Naomi noted. 'We'll have to do it here. And quickly'

'Alright. Let's save this life!' Erhard raised his hand.

'Dr. Sartre, since I've observed a surgery of yours first-hand, I think I can safely say that you're the best amongst us' Derek smiled.

'True' Naomi looked at him. 'His skills are remarkable indeed'

'Then, if no one objects, I'll operate on the heart' Erhard nodded.

'I'll take the lungs' Dr. Stiles picked his choice. 'My Healing Touch is the only way we can cure both the disease and the bullet hole'

'The liver's for me, then' Dr. Kimishima smiled.

'I'm not sure I can handle a difficult surgery…' Valerie blushed. 'So, if that's okay, I'd like to work on the intestines'

'Yeah, they should be the least infected organ'

'Guess that leaves the stomach for me' Markus smiled.

'I'll be assisting you all! I'll do my best, so please, do the same as well!' Angie laughed.

The surgeons nodded and made the first cut.

'Damn it…' Dr. Sartre started to sweat. 'The heart…'

'Oh my God!' Angie gasped. 'What's this thing?'

'It barely looks like a heart now…' Markus sighed. 'Are you sure you're up for it?'

'Yeah. I can do it. Nurse, scalpel, please'

'Right!' Angie handed it to him.


	31. Desperate Defense

**31. DESPERATE DEFENSE**

'Damn it!' Hilly fell on the ground and grabbed her bleeding shoulder.

The girl quickly turned around to see if the tentacle that had injured her was still there.

It wasn't.

'No!' she got up and barely managed to dodge its renewed attack.

"Am I really supposed to last for an hour like this?" the teenager thought as she started to run again. "Impossible! But I have to do it!"

Meanwhile, Dr. Freebird and Dr. Torres were also in a difficult situation.

'Hank!' Maria wiped the sweat off his forehead. 'Are you sure you'll be alright? You're sweating more than usual!'

'I'll be fine! Focus on the patient for now!'

'What's wrong?'

'It's nothing, it's just… His wounds are VERY severe. It's sheer willpower that's keeping him alive. Not to mention, working without equipment isn't as easy as I thought it'd be'

'Hang in there!' the girl cheered him up.

'Damn it! How many more are there?' Krauser shot another infected person down and looked at the others. 'It's like for every one we shoot down, a dozen more pop outta nowhere!'

'Hang in there!' Connor said and reloaded. 'Only a bit more. I'm sure the doctors will be done soon!'

'Running a bit low here!' Matthew yelled.

'Well, I'm not exactly packed myself'

"Doctors… Please hurry up…" the boy asked them in his mind, then kept on shooting.

'Argh!' Wesker screamed as he barely dodged yet another tentacle attack.

Luckily, this last one only scratched his back a little, but if he wasn't careful, it could've easily impaled him.

"Damn it… Alright, let's get to the control room, and fast… The doctors should be done with the surgery any second now…"


	32. Crime and Punishment

**32. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT **

'Ugh…' Alexia woke up and rubbed her eyes.

'Don't try to get up' she heard a voice.

The girl didn't listen.

'Where… am I?'

'Don't you recognize this place?'

Alexia looked around.

She was standing in the middle of a beautiful garden.

'This garden… Me and my brother played a lot here when we were kids… I didn't know it existed anymore'

'It doesn't' the voice responded. 'It was destroyed to make room for the Umbrella research facility, remember?'

'That's right… And who're you, anyway? How do you know that?'

Suddenly, Alexia caught a glimpse of a mysterious person with the corner of her eye.

It was a young girl, not more than 10-11 years old.

'Can't you recognize me either? We've lived together for so many years'

Alexia looked at her.

'You're Veronica…'

'That's right'

The girl looked around once more.

'Why am I here? And why are YOU here?'

'I brought you here'

'Why?'

The young girl looked at Alexia in the eye.

'I need to ask you something. And your answer will determine your fate'

'What do you want to know?'

Veronica closed her eyes.

'I'm dying. I don't have much time left'

'What are you talking about?'

'The doctors are operating on me now. They want to kill me. That or my host will die. Either way, my time is up'

'I'm sorry to hear that. It was you alone that gave me strength. Without you I'll be weak again'

'That's right. You will be weak and alone once again. This time, it'll be forever'

'Alone…' Alexia looked down. 'That's right. My brother's gone. After you leave, I'll truly be all alone…'

'But you don't have to be' the little girl smiled.

'What do you mean?'

'Come with me' she gave her hand.

'What…'

'Come with me' she repeated. 'To the place where you will never be lonely ever again'

'That place…' Alexia thought.

'Your parents are there. Your brother is there. And soon, I'll be there as well'

'But I'll be leaving this world behind then… Can I really do that?'

'It's your decision. But think about what you have waiting for you in this world… and in the other'

Alexia closed her eyes.

'Yes, you're right. I will come with you'

Veronica smiled.

'Very well, then. Let's not waste any more time'

Suddenly, a door appeared in the middle of the garden.

'Come through here. This is the door to that place'

Alexia nodded and reached for the doorknob.


	33. Operation Failed

**33. OPERATION FAILED**

Dr. Sartre sighed.

'Doctor, are you OK?' Angie asked as she wiped the sweat from his forehead.

'…Yeah. I'll be fine. How're the vitals?'

'Right' the nurse looked at the monitor. 'They're…'

*BEEEEEEEP*

'DOCTOR! SHE'S FLATLINING!' Angie screamed.

'WHAT?'

'No! We were almost done!' Derek looked at her.

'It's not too late! I'll massage the heart!' Markus yelled.

'You can't, it's wide-open' Naomi stated. 'It's too late'

'No… That's impossible! The surgery was going so well, too!' Valerie gasped.

Dr. Sartre sighed.

'Time of death: 3:21 AM'

'H-hey! Hank!'

'What is it?' Dr. Freebird said as he stitched up the incision.

'I… I can't feel the pulse!'

'WHAT? Are you sure?'

'Yeah, there's no pulse!' Maria turned to the patient. 'Alfred! Hang in there! ALFRED!'

'What happened? I extracted all of the bullets and closed the wounds! Why did he…'

'I'm not giving up!' Maria said and started to massage Alfred's chest.

'Maria…'

'Come on! Come on, Alfred, breathe! Come on!'

'Maria, that's enough. He's gone. Let's go and help the others'

'No way! I'm not giving up on him! I'll stay here until he's stable, got it!'

'Maria, please…'

'SHUT UP!' Dr. Torres yelled as she kept on pressing against her patient's chest.

'Phew…' Albert took his breath. 'Finally, the generator room'

The man smiled to himself as he slowly entered.

The place was isolated with solid concrete, so it was impenetrable by the tentacles.

He could rest there for a few minutes while setting the bomb up.

Wesker sat on the ground and took out his walkie-talkie.

'Hey, Matthew, can you hear me?'

'Loud and clear, sir!' Matthew responded.

'I made it to the generator room. Is the surgery over?'

'Not yet. They should be done soon, though! It's already been an hour'

'Great. Give me the signal when everyone's evacuated so I can set the detonator'

'Roger that! Matthew out!'

Wesker put the walkie-talkie back in his pocket, then took the backpack off and examined the bomb.

That's when it hit him.

'No… Damn it….' The man sighed.


	34. Try Again

**34. TRY AGAIN**

'Wait, are you just giving up?' Angie looked at Dr. Sartre.

'There's not much we can do'

'Well… Derek looked at the others. 'There is one thing we can try'

'What's that?'

'Our Healing Touch'

'I doubt it'll do us much good if the patient's already dead'

'We can try it. We can bring her back, if only for a little while!'

'I don't think a single Healing Touch would be enough to do the job' Markus remarked.

'Dr. Vaughn… You know about the Healing Touch?'

'My, you're negative today, Dr. Vaughn' Naomi smiled. 'We have more than one Healing Touch'

'That's right'

'Dr. Vaughn…' Valerie shivered. 'Don't tell me… You possess the Healing Touch?'

'That's right'

'What are we waiting for, then?' Derek said and placed his hand on top of the patient's heart. 'Let's work together. If anything can bring her back, it's our Healing Touch'

Naomi placed her hand on top of his.

'That's right. I think we can cure the patient like that'

Markus was next.

'A great man once said "We don't cure patients. We only help them cure themselves". Let's hope our Healing Touch will help her come back on her own'

Valerie put her hand on top as well.

'I don't possess the Healing Touch yet… But I'll give it my best!'

Everyone looked at Dr. Sartre.

'Alright then' he smiled. 'I'm certain this will work'

With this, the surgeon added the fifth edge of the Healing Touch star.

Everyone closed their eyes and concentrated.


	35. The Power of the Touch

**35. THE POWER OF THE TOUCH**

'Huh?'

'What's wrong?' Veronica asked.

'I… I feel something…' Alexia pulled back from the door.

'Something?'

'Yes… That's them!' the girl gasped. 'The doctors I tried to kill. They're helping me… They want me to come back… But why?'

'It's obviously a trap. They want you to be lonely again. They want you to suffer. Why else would they want to bring you back?'

'No… It can't be that. I can feel their emotions…' Alexia shivered.

'What is it? What do they feel?'

A tear fell from the girl's eye.

'They… care for me. They want me to come back, they really, really do. They're giving it their all… But why? I tried to kill them! Why do they want to help me so badly?'

Veronica kept silent.

'You know what…' Alexia smiled. 'It doesn't matter why. What matters is that they want to help me. They care. That's enough for me'

'So, is this your choice? To stay in this cold and lonely world?'

'What are you talking about?' Alexia looked at Veronica. 'With people like them in it, this world can never be cold and lonely'

'Huh…?'

'You know, I used to think all humans were like my father – selfish, egoistical and aggressive freaks. I thought the only thing they were worthy of was to be experimented on by me… But that's not true, is it?'

'I don't know' the little girl said.

'Yeah… Neither do I. But I want to find out. I really, really do'

'Then you really won't come with me?'

'No' Alexia shook her head. 'I'm sorry'

'That's alright' Veronica smiled. 'You can come to me anytime you want. And when you're ready, I'll be waiting'

'Thank you' the girl smiled.


	36. A Miracle

**36. A MIRACLE **

*beep*

'Huh?' all the doctors looked at the monitor.

*beep* *beep*

Suddenly, everyone in the OR sighed with relief.

'We… we did it…' Derek smiled.

'Not yet. We need to finish the surgery, right? Let's get to it' Markus said and picked up his scalpel once again.

'COME ON! BREATHE! I TOLD YOU TO BREATHE!' Maria screamed as she was hitting Alfred's chest.

'Maria, come on. It's useless'

'NO! Alfred, if you don't start breathing RIGHT NOW I'LL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF! COME ON! YOU CAN'T DIE, UNDERSTAND?' Maria was about to start crying.

Suddenly, the patient inhaled.

'Huh… Hey, Hank! HANK! I can feel his pulse again?'

'What?' the orthopedist came and checked himself. 'But that's…'

'SEE! I told you he wouldn't die! Not like this!'

Hank closed his eyes.

'Maria, I'm sorry I doubted you. And the patient as well. I promise, this will not happen again'

'Come on, apologies later! Now fix him up!'

'Right! Let's continue the procedure!'


	37. The Grand Finale

**37. THE GRAND FINALE**

'Hey! Hey, can you hear us?' Markus screamed in the walkie-talkie.

'Loud and clear, Doctor' Matthew responded.

'The surgery's over! We're ready to transport the patient out!'

'Alright, excellent! The infected are al down! You can use the walkie-talkie to call for a helicopter. We'll go back into the mansion and extract everyone!'

'Alright' Markus closed the station and turned at the other doctors. 'The front door's clear. Let's move out!'

'Sir!' Matthew shouted in the walkie-talkie. 'The surgery's over! You can set the detonator!'

'Alright. How long do you need?' Wesker responded.

'Let's say… Five minutes!'

'I got you. Make sure everyone's out until then'

'Of course! I'll be waiting at Point A, as we agreed!'

'Copy that. Wesker out'

Matthew smiled and rushed back into the mansion to recover the rest of the people inside.

"Damn it! Only a minute left!" Matthew said to himself as he kept on running.

Suddenly, someone appeared in front of him.

'Hey! Dr. Tachibana!'

'Matthew!' the girl smiled.

'Come on! We have to get out of here ASAP! The boss is about to blow this whole place up!'

'What about the others?' Tomoe asked.

'They're already out! Every single person inside is already waiting at the extraction point'

'Okay!' the girl smiled. 'Let's get out of here!'

Matthew grabbed her hand and started to run as fast as he could.

'Boss, I got Dr. Tachibana with me! She's the last person left inside!'

'Excellent work, Matthew!'

'We're now heading for Point A. You're there already, right?'

'Of course. I'm waiting for you'

'Nice!' the soldier smiled. 'We're almost there! Going down the stairs now…'

'I see… Hey, Matthew'

'Yeah?'

'Take good care of Dr. Tachibana, alright?'

'Of course! Do you even need to ask?'

'Heh. I trust you'

After half a minute, the two were already at the extraction point.

'Phew! Right on time!' the soldier looked at his watch.

'Nice job, dude! You got me really worried there for a minute' Connor smiled.

'Wait…' Matthew looked. 'Where's the Boss?'

'Huh? Isn't he with you?'

Suddenly, everyone's heart skipped a beat.

Matthew turned around and looked at the mansion they just left.

'No…'

*BOOM*


	38. Acceptable Losses

**37. ACCEPTABLE LOSSES**

Everyone only stared at the wreckage that only a few seconds ago was a huge mansion without saying a word.

'B…Boss?' Matthew could only utter.

'He was inside?' Krauser jumped. 'Why?'

'Mr. Wesker… MISTER WESKER!' Tomoe fell on the ground and started to weep sadly.

Connor was shaking and desperately trying to keep his cool.

The doctors were just as shocked.

Gabriel took the cigarette out of his mouth and threw it on the ground.

Maria kneeled down to Tomoe and hugged her tightly.

'I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry… '

Dr. Tachibana hugged her friend back and kept crying on her shoulder.

'I'm sorry, Boss' Krauser threw his knife on the ground. 'I should've taken your place. If I only knew…'

'No!' Connor yelled. 'Nobody should've taken anyone's place! We all had to make it out of this! This wasn't supposed to happen!'

The boy wiped a tear from his face, then turned around.

*CRACK*

Everyone looked at the wreckage once again.

Suddenly, a piece of wood was sent flying from it.

'Wait…' Markus looked carefully.

Amongst all the rubble, everyone suddenly recognized something that kind of looked like the silhouette of a man dressed in black.

The man slowly got out of the wreckage and stood up.

'Don't tell me…' Angie gasped.

The man waved at them.

'MISTER WESKER!' Tomoe laughed, then ran to him.

As soon as she approached him, she hugged him as tightly as she could.

'Dr. Tachibana, I thought I told you that death is not something I can achieve easily'

'Mr. Wesker…' the girl kept on crying.

But this time, those were tears from happiness.

'It's alright now' he hugged her back.

'Please… Please promise to never leave my side again'

'I promise' Albert smiled.

'I absolutely FORBID you to pull ANYTHING like that again!' Maria yelled. 'Who do you think you are, mister? You almost gave Tomoe a heart attack here!'

'I'm sorry. I'll keep that in mind'

'BOSS!' Matthew saluted.

'Mr. Wesker! I knew you couldn't die that easily! I just knew!' Connor smiled widely.

'Yeah, thanks for the trust… Ow…'

'Are you hurt?' Valerie asked.

'Well, standing right next to an explosion isn't something you'd walk out without a scratch on' Gabe smiled. 'Come on, let's patch you up!'


	39. Never Alone

**39. NEVER ALONE**

'Hmm…' Alexia slowly opened her eyes.

'Oh, you're finally awake!' Angie smiled. 'How're you feeling?'

'Uhm… It hurts…'

'I'll administer some morphine in a few minutes' the nurse said. 'But first, let me notify the doctor you're conscious'

'Alright…'

Angie left. Soon, the doctor entered the room.

'Hello' he smiled (or at least tried his best to). 'I'm Dr. Erhard Sartre. How're you feeling?'

'I'm tired… And in pain'

'Yes, you underwent a very difficult operation. I regret to inform you that you'll be in pain for a while. We'll help with painkillers the best we can, but…'

'That's okay… I deserve it. I hurt so many people… Look, Doctor, I don't want to sound ungrateful, but… Why did you even bother saving me?'

'Because that's my job. I'm a doctor. No matter who it is that needs my help, I'll give it to them'

'I see… I appreciate it. I'm really, really grateful you did the effort of saving me. You gave me faith in humanity. I can finally enjoy just living in this world… even if it's for a little while'

'What do you mean?'

'Don't play dumb. My brother destroyed this island. With him gone, it is I who'll bear the consequences'

The doctor kept silent.

'But that's okay. I don't mind dying for his crimes at all. He's… was… the best brother I could've ever hoped for' the girl looked down. 'He waited here, all alone, for fifteen years, just for me… He did so many horrible things, all for me… It'll be my honor to take his place!'

'Heh. Sorry, but that's not happening'

'HUH?'

Dr. Sartre stood back and pulled the curtain separating the two beds in the room.

'Hello, my Queen' the man on the other bed smiled.

'Al… Alfred… ALFRED!' Alexia tried to get up, but couldn't.

'Don't push yourself. You mustn't get up for at least two weeks' Dr. Sartre noted.

'But how… I saw you die in my hands'

'The doctors saved me, just as they saved you'

'Doctor!' Alexia turned to Erhard. 'What's going to happen to him now? Will he be…'

'We're only doctors' Dr. Sartre said. 'We help patients. We don't judge them, or decide their ultimate fate'

'Then… That means… You won't turn us in?'

'If the local investigation determines that you two have broken the law, then you will answer for your crimes accordingly. We are not locals. We only saved your life. Nothing more, nothing less'

Alexia wiped her tears with her hand.

'Thank you… Thank you…'


	40. The Fate of the Doctors

**40. FATE OF THE DOCTORS**

'Phew! I'm beat!' Gabriel lied down on a bed. 'I hope I never have to go through anything like this again!'

'Oh, come on now, it wasn't THAT bad!' Maria grinned.

'Yeah? Remember the outbreak from 2 months ago? It was NOTHING compared to this! NOTHING!'

'Yeah, whatever…'

*knock* *knock*

'Huh?' Maria got up and went to the door, then opened it.

In front of it stood Hilly.

'Oh, hey! Come in!' she invited her.

'Thanks!' the girl entered.

'How're you holding up, kid?' Gabe asked.

'Oh! Well, last night was a bit too intense for me, but I'm fine!'

'What about your uncle?'

'He'll be fine too!' Hilly laughed. 'The doctors here found him and gave him the cure, alongside everyone else from the village who was infected. They're all expected to recover!'

'And then what?'

'Then we're back home. I'm going back to school next month, and I guess my uncle will leave his post at Umbrella once and for all'

'That's good news indeed!' Maria smiled.

'Yeah! So, I just wanted to pop in and say "Thanks", you know? I really appreciate your help!'

'And we appreciate yours, kid!' Gabe put a cigarette in his mouth.

'Doctor! Doctor Vaughn!' Claire shouted.

'Hm? Oh, it's you' the man smiled. 'How're you?'

'I'm OK. Steve's doing well too!'

'Yeah, I noticed. I came to check him up this morning. He'll be fine in a week, maybe two'

'I see. Thank you so very, very much for your help!'

'It's OK. I'm a doctor, that's my job. Right?'

'Yeah, I guess so… But still, I never expected you to be so skilled! I doubt many doctors could've been able to operate without the proper environment'

'Heh. You'd be surprised' Markus turned around.

'Wait, Doctor!'

'Huh?' he looked back.

'What are you going to do now?'

'What do you mean?'

'I heard the villagers will be moving out once they recover from the virus. I'm guessing the doctors here will follow, too. What about you?'

'Well, no point in staying in an empty hospital. I'll move as well'

'Really? Where?'

'I don't know. I can always return to Concordia, where I finished my internship, but… I always preferred quieter places. So, we'll see'

'Alright… Please, make sure you give me a call when you settle down!' Claire handed him a piece of paper. 'I want to know where you are in case I'm in need of your services again!'

'Let's hope you won't be' Markus took the paper. 'But I'll be sure to give you a call anyway'

'Thanks!'

'And what about you?'

'Eh?'

'What will you do now?'

'I… I don't know, really. I spent a lot of time looking for my brother. That's what brought me here'

'Is that so…'

'Yeah. He was a soldier. A S.T.A.R.S. member'

'S.T.A.R.S… The name sounds familiar'

'Yeah. That man in black, Wesker, is also a member. I saw the name written on his knife'

'So I guess you confronted him about it?'

'Yeah, just a few minutes ago'

'And?'

Claire smiled sadly.

'It was… just as I expected. I had a tiny bit of hope, but…'

'I'm sorry'

'Thanks'

'So, what now?'

'I don't know. I'll probably just move on with my life. Find a job, settle down, something like that'

'I see. That's good. I wish you the best'

'Thanks! Same to you, Doctor!'

Markus smiled, then turned around and started to walk away.

On his way, he noticed another familiar face.

'Damn it! Why won't you fall down?'

'Dr. Blaylock?'

'Oh!' the girl turned around. 'Dr. Vaughn! I'm sorry you had to see this… My breakfast won't fall'

She pointed at the vending machine and laughed.

'You just need to give it a little shake, like this' Markus pushed the machine slightly on the side. A few seconds later, they both heard a *thump* from inside it.

'Great!' she reached inside and grabbed a pack of biscuits. 'Thanks a lot!'

'Don't mention it'

'So, Doctor… You wanted to speak to me?'

'Yeah, how did you know?'

'Doctor Freebird told me. What is it?'

'Well, you probably know that the hospital will be abandoned soon'

'Yeah…' Valerie looked down.

'Have you thought about where you want to continue your internship?'

'I have no idea. I was hoping for a big hospital, somewhere I can learn from a lot of skilled doctors'

'In that case… How about Concordia?'

'Concordia?' Dr. Blaylock asked.

'Yeah. I'll probably go back there to step on my feet. Feel free to follow me if you want'

'What're you talking about? Of course I'll come!' she smiled. 'I have so much I want to learn from you!'

'You have the potential to become an excellent surgeon, Dr. Blaylock. And I'll do everything in my power to help you achieve this'

'Please!' she blushed. 'Call me Valerie!'

The man smiled.

'I'm Markus'

'Well, Markus… I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!'


	41. Saying Goodbye

**41. SAYING GOODBYE**

'Your ship is waiting for you' Markus pointed at the large cruise ship docked on the port.

'IT'S SO BIG!' Maria yelled.

'It's comfortable, too! It's what Caduceus uses for sea transportations' Angie smiled.

'I'm so jealous!'

'Sadly, we don't get to use it very often' Dr. Stiles noted.

'Then let's enjoy the trip while we can, shall we?' Gabe laughed.

'Hey, guys' they heard a voice. 'What is HOLY CRAP WHAT A HUGE SHIP!'

Everyone turned around.

'Adam!' Hank looked at him. 'How're you feeling?'

'Never better! Kind of sucks that I missed your vacation, but I plan to make up for it on this huge piece of awesome right there!' he pointed at the ship.

'Should we let him think this was a vacation?' Erhard asked.

'Shh! Let him be jealous for a while!' Maria whispered in his ear.

'So, that's everyone, right?' Naomi asked.

'We're just one person short' Dr. Cunningham said.

'She's coming, from what I can see' Dr. Vaughn noted, observing the quickly approaching silhouette.

'Everyone!' Tomoe yelled, smiling.

'Heeey!' Maria yelled. 'Hurry up, or we're leaving you behind!'

Dr. Tachibana laughed, then ran to the rest of the team, stopping right in front of them.

'Well, since everyone's here now, I suggest we set sail. I wonder how Resurgam is doing without us' Hank said.

'I agree' Naomi nodded.

'That's the thing…' Tomoe looked away. 'Maria, can you please hand this over to the Chief?'

The girl gave her friend a small envelope.

'Huh? Sure, but why can't you give it to her when we come back?' Maria asked. 'What is this?'

'It's… my letter of resignation'

'WHAT?'

'What the hell are you talking about, Tomoe?' Gabe went to her. 'Resignation? You're LEAVING?'

'Yes. I decided to stay with the BSAA as their medic. They need me'

'Tomoe…' Maria looked her in the eye.

'Are you sure that's what you want?' Dr. Sartre asked her.

'Yes. I've made up my mind. I'll help them out until their mission is finished'

'How long will that take?'

'I don't know. Months, maybe years… I can't say'

A few moments of silence followed.

'Tomoeeeee' Maria hugged her again, desperately trying to not cry.

'Heh' Gabe smiled. 'Good luck with that, then. We'll be expecting you back in Resurgam when your mission's over, no matter how long it takes'

'Thank you!' Dr. Tachibana bowed. 'It's been an honor working with all of you!'

'We'll be expecting you back. Don't forget us!' Hank nodded.

Tomoe smiled.

'Hey, Doctor!' Connor waved to her in the distance. 'We're leaving soon!'

'Coming!' the girl waved back. 'Well… I guess this is goodbye'

'Goodbye, Tomoe! We'll be waiting for you, alright? Make sure you come back!'

'Yeah' Dr. Tachibana smiled, then turned around and started to walk towards the distance.


End file.
